Inspiring by Example: Dr. Bruce Trusock Receives Michigan Tech Silver Medal

Doctor with stethoscope around his neck in front of brick wall with Portage Health sign on it
Doctor with stethoscope around his neck in front of brick wall with Portage Health sign on it
Dr. Bruce Trusock, '74, receives the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Silver Medal during Winter Carnival 2018.
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Silver medals aren't strictly for the Olympics. Michigan Tech is handing out one of its own, to one of its own, this weekend. Dr. Bruce Trusock, '74, will be awarded the Michigan Technological University Board of Trustees Silver Medal on Friday, February 9.

Fittingly, the medal will be presented to the former student-athlete at a Huskies hockey game during Winter Carnival. Michigan Tech's team physician has served 36 years as a sports medicine doctor for Michigan Tech Athletics, attending more than 1,500 games and volunteering more than 6,600 hours of service. 

Trusock also knows a thing or two about putting on Winter Carnivals. As 1973 Blue Key Honor Society President it was his job to oversee organizing and running the event (Fun fact: the theme that year was "Frigid Fairy Tales"). His brother did the honors as Blue Key president two years later. Another brother and sister are also Tech graduates—and they're all second-generation Huskies. "My dad was a 1950 grad, in electrical engineering," Trusock says.

The Silver Medal is awarded to those whose personal and professional achievements set an outstanding example for recent Michigan Tech graduates.

A round silver medal with a woman's torso with wings of coins and Michigan Technological University printed around the rim
 The Michigan Tech Board of Trustees approved awarding the medal to Trusock at its December 15, 2017 meeting. 

 

 

"I couldn’t be more pleased to present the Silver Medal to Bruce. Throughout his 36 years of service, he’s helped make Michigan Tech a great environment for student-athletes,” says Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz.

"We're proud to be considered not only the safest campus in the country, but thanks to Bruce, one of the healthiest."Michigan Tech President Glenn Mroz

Huskies Hall of Famer

Six football players wearing Michigan Tech jerseys on a football field
A Michigan Tech student-athlete in the 1970s, No. 51 has been taking care of Michigan Tech student-athletes for 36 years. (Michigan Tech Athletics photo)

Trusock's performance on the field and in the classroom exemplifies the academic and athletic standards the University sets for its student-athletes. Originally following in his father's footsteps, the offensive center for the Michigan Tech football team switched from electrical engineering to biosciences to prepare for a career in medicine. Inducted into Blue Key in 1971, the four-year letter winner earned All-Northern Intercollegiate Conference honors over his final three seasons. Michigan Tech was 29-7-1 during Trusock's time with the team, claiming first place in the NIC twice, and finishing in second place, twice. Inducted into the Michigan Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002, Trusock is a four-time recipient of the Weber Scholarship Trophy as top football scholar athlete; a three-time recipient of the Omer LaJeunesse Award for scholastic achievement; a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American as a senior; and a 1974 recipient of the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship.

Caring for Families and Athletes 

Trusock graduated from medical school at the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, in East Lansing, Michigan. His studies at the college included training in the Upper Peninsula. He completed a residency in family practice in Midland, Michigan. He returned to practice in Houghton—the first physician to do so in 25 years.  

But what brought a Battle Creek, Michigan native back to the U.P.? "Friends encouraged me. I made a lot of good friends at Michigan Tech," says Trusock. Coaches Ted Kearly and Bill Lucier, "Johnny Mac" (legendary hockey coach John MacInnes), and many others. "Bert Whitten (biology professor and advisor) and Dr. Ken Rowe (a former Michigan Tech board member, area physician and director of the Western Upper Peninsula Health District) were instrumental."   

"Michigan Tech is the reason I'm here."Dr. Bruce Trusock

"I’m honored to receive the award, but I couldn’t have done it without my wife, Karen (a 1974 Tech graduate), and kids—Kara, Corinne and Brett,” Trusock says.

Certified by the American Board of Family Practice, Trusock has been practicing at Portage Health System the past 36 years. Certified in sports medicine, he is a former member of the American College of Sports Medicine and a current member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

 

Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to more than 7,000 students from 55 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.

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