For Cameron Proceviat, the dilemma isn’t “Olympics vs Med School”, as other sources have reported. He intends on attending medical school once he’s “done with running”.
SFU’s track and field captain and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (MBB) major could pursue both options.
Proceviat was an 2015-2016 NCAA All-American in the indoor 800-meter and also has a 3.90 GPA (out of 4.33), earning him the 2016 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Scholar-Athlete of the Year, making him the first SFU athlete, male or female, to receive the award.
The self-described “late bloomer” started as a walk-on with SFU’s track and field team five years ago. His personal drive and encouragement from his family pushed him to always aim higher. Proceviat’s season best 1:49.28 in the 800 metres is No. 2 on the GNAC all-time list and his 1,500-metre best of 3:46.47 ranks No. 4.
“Breakthroughs happen at different times for different people”, Proceviat told The Peak. “Focus on your own improvement, even if you’re a late bloomer. [Success] won’t be as sudden or as big.” This spring, Proceviat was also named by SFU as the recipient of the Bill Devries Award for all-around male athlete of the year.
Proceviat said he would encourage students to “not give up, but there was a time when I did give up.” He said after being a good runner in elementary school, he tried it again in grade 9 and he “wasn’t very good and wasn’t enjoying it.”
“I never really gave [running] a try until grade 12, mostly because my mom pushed me.” She suggested he try running again, after playing seven different sports like soccer and rugby for his high school, Moscrop Secondary.
“I never really focussed on a single sport before track,” he just played for fun. “My favourite thing to do is play sports.” Proceviat thinks his success in track was partly thanks to his focus on a single sport once he attended SFU.
“The either or [reports] were misleading”, said Proceviat . “My plan right now is to compete for one more year and try to make the World University Games next summer… and assess whether the [2020] Olympics is an achievable goal [. . .] I don’t know if ‘or’ was the right word.”
Medical school had always been Proceviat’s goal since he was little. Not only would he love the opportunity to be a doctor and help people but it’s also a personal goal. “I’ve always looked at myself and tried to achieve the highest thing possible.”
Proceviat said that with the ability and the opportunity to attend medical school SFU has given him, if he didn’t attend then he would be “letting [himself] down.”
