Peter Dimitrion, August 18th, 2024
Title
Peter Dimitrion, August 18th, 2024
Description
In this interview, Peter Dimitrion shares what it was like going through medical school during the start of Covid-19.
Publisher
Detroit Historical Society
Rights
Detroit Historical Society
Format
en-US
Narrator/Interviewee's Name
Peter Dimitrion
Interviewer's Name
Taylor Claybrook
Date
8/18/2024
Interview Length
10:23
Transcription
Taylor Claybrook: Okay. Today is August 18th, 2024. My name is Taylor Claybrook and I'm sitting down with.
Peter Dimitrion: Peter Dimitrion.
TC: Thank you for sitting down and doing this interview with me. I'm going to start by asking what was your initial reaction to hearing about Covid when it was spreading and when lockdown finally happened?
PD: So with Covid. My, at the time, my current wife at the time, my girlfriend and I were actually planning to do an international trip to both of our homelands because we had talked about sharing our culture with each other. And, it kind of just came out of the blue that there was this new virus coming out of China. People were getting very sick. And then cases started popping up all over the world. And then it became this whole frenzy. And so kind of Covid was like this thing that sort of slowly developed into an actual problem. And I kind of watched it become like a problem for me and then a problem for everybody. And so it's kind of. It was strange because it in one way it felt like it spread very slowly, but in the other it felt like it happened so quick. Like all of a sudden we couldn't go to campus, we couldn't leave our homes, businesses were closed, and I feel like no one really knew what to do and with a lot of uncertainty. But at the same time, I feel like it also happened very slowly, which is kind of a weird feeling.
TC: And how was your academic career impacted?
PD: I think I got lucky. I think people who were in my ear at this time. I was finishing up my first year of medical school, starting my second, which is mostly classwork, and I think that that was probably the best position for me to be in with Covid. Because a lot of medical school at the time was already like, you watch lectures on your computer, you do a lot of flashcards. You're doing things by yourself. You don't really need to be anywhere, particularly except for maybe clinical skills training. But even then, the first, the clinical skills training you get in the first two years of medical school is pretty, minor. So I don't feel like academically at that point that was really affected. But I've noticed that with some of my colleagues who are like trying to make the transition from the MD PhD years. They didn't know if they could start in a lab or do the in-person things that they needed to do to progress throughout their, their career. I actually think that for me, it was it was a good thing because I tend to work alone at home. So the hardest thing I think academically was like not having the option to go out as a break or, you know, study at a cafe if I wanted to. And so it took I feel like it just taught me a lot of discipline of how to be. Productive in one space and manage my energy and my time in a confined area.
TC: What kept you busy during lockdown and were you living in Detroit at the time?
PD: So I didn't leave Detroit. I was, you know, since moving to Detroit, I lived here. Actually, my my now wife was with me when Covid started happening because we were trying to go on this trip. And so she got stuck and she got stuck in Detroit for, I think, three months. So that was kind of nice. And what was that? What can I say? I was at the time, I was. I had a leadership position on the executive, the student Senate, where I was essentially in charge of helping the student organizations help, like, student organizations basically find funding, organize their events and stuff like that. It was called the Board of Student Organizations president. And so I had an interesting challenge of like having to help students figure out how do they keep their clubs running. Would not be able to meet in person or abide by these changing and fluctuating guidelines that we were getting from the CDC, from the school and from everybody. And so that kept me very busy at the same time. This was also when the George Floyd problem was happening, and there was a lot of like, outreach that people wanted to do. But then I had to sometimes play the bad guy and say like, no, you can't do that because of the Covid guidelines. And, you know, kind of became a lightning rod in some regards. But, yeah, I just feel like that was what, you know, I was trying to help people. Pursue the things that they want to pursue and at the same time keep them safe. And also not become, you know, not be, I got no problem getting charged with, the school. Yeah, that's what I like to do. I like to make sure I kind of like to help people. Do facilitate the things that they want to do. They make it possible for them. It's kind of like my partners. And so I felt like I was in a good position for me during Covid. Do that yeah.
TC: Okay. And how was the transition from, I guess you kind of answer this little.
PD: Yeah. Like I said.
TC: In person to online and then going from online to in person.
PD: I did a lot of things online already. And so it wasn't a big transition for me. At least I didn't mind it. I also had my, my my wife there with me. And I had roommates at the time cuz I feel like I was getting that socialization. So the transitioning from in-person was not in-person to online was going to be harder than just getting back in person was also fine for me as well. I was okay.
TC: And what was it like interacting with your family that lived outside of your home?
PD: My family lived outside of my home. We also lived in Hawaii.
TC: Right. Which is.
PD: It was a lot of the same, I think. You know, I don't I only see them once a year. So I was mostly worried that something was going to happen to them. And me not being able to fly back and be there for them. Fortunately nothing happened. My grandparents were there. Probably healthier than I am. But they are. Everyone was okay. And it was just, you know, interesting to navigate the uncertainties because they had a lot of different kinds of uncertainties in Hawaii, and they didn't try. I think. You know, in Detroit there's a lot of more indoor public spaces, but Hawaii is a lot more outdoor public spaces. And so the debates were kind of a little bit different there.
TC: Well, I wanted to go back to. You said you were finishing your first year of medical school.
PD: I just finished that year. It was 2020, right after I'd finished my first year medical school. It was in the middle of the second year, I think.
TC: Okay, so when did you start your PhD?
PD: I started my PhD in 2021, technically.
TC: So it was it was still like Covid.
PD: Covid. Yes. Yeah.
TC: And so what was that like?
PD: Oh, it wasn't too bad. My boss didn't care about the Covid restrictions. And as long as, like, there was a way for us to be in the lab, we could be in the lab. So I think. Then that way. I don't feel like you really helped me up at all. For better or for worse, you know.
TC: How long have you been in the city? And, Wayne, when the lockdown happened.
PD: So I came in 2020, 2019. That's why I came to Detroit. So I really only got like. I think it's two years. Yes, maybe a year and a half of real Detroit before Covid.
TC: Hit, right? In. When did you. You got into wine at the same time? Yeah.
PD: I wasn't here.
TC: Before. Okay. Okay. Are there any additional thoughts that you have about the Covid era and the lockdown or.
PD: Yeah, I.
TC: How Wayne state handled it.
PD: Or so I feel like it was full of a lot of frustration for people. And I recognize that. And I feel very grateful and lucky that I. Nothing terrible happened to my family, to me, to people close to me, as far as I know. And. I, you know, again, I'm just grateful for that. But I recognize that it wasn't easy for everyone. And everyone has different challenges depending on what sector of industry they worked in, what kind of job they had. It was kind of sad to see like how the world changed from Covid. I feel like. You know, my my, my wife lives in New York. And New York has changed a lot. Like, Detroit was very different after Covid. And so it's really welcome to imprint on the world. But I think that, you know, the way that the medical what I wanted to say with the medical school, I feel handled it very well despite people's frustrations with it. Having the opportunity to kind of see behind closed doors and be involved in the conversations that were shaping the like, like our policies was, you know, I recognize the challenging it was from them. And I feel like. That's not something that a lot of. Students kind of could appreciate, like, they were just as stressed as we were. Right? Because they don't want. I guess the medical school works nightmare is that their students fail. Right. And they were doing everything that they could to make sure that their students didn't fail, whether the students told them or not. But that's here in Carlisle that they had to, follow. Yeah.
TC: And one more question that I'm sure earlier. Yeah. What is your, your field of study, like, your program that you're doing in medical school?
PD: Oh, yeah. So I'm an MD, PhD student, which means that we do medical school and research training to become a what's called a physician scientist. And we are specially trained to conduct research on, like human diseases. So that's that's what I do. I started in 2019. I will end in 2026. I did the math right. And my PhD training was technically in cancer biology, but it was a lot of immunology, and so did a rare, a rare pediatric hematological disease. And so I kind of also do like genetics of skin diseases, too. So I kind of got gobbled everywhere in immunology.
TC: Okay. Thank you.
PD: Yeah. No problem.
Peter Dimitrion: Peter Dimitrion.
TC: Thank you for sitting down and doing this interview with me. I'm going to start by asking what was your initial reaction to hearing about Covid when it was spreading and when lockdown finally happened?
PD: So with Covid. My, at the time, my current wife at the time, my girlfriend and I were actually planning to do an international trip to both of our homelands because we had talked about sharing our culture with each other. And, it kind of just came out of the blue that there was this new virus coming out of China. People were getting very sick. And then cases started popping up all over the world. And then it became this whole frenzy. And so kind of Covid was like this thing that sort of slowly developed into an actual problem. And I kind of watched it become like a problem for me and then a problem for everybody. And so it's kind of. It was strange because it in one way it felt like it spread very slowly, but in the other it felt like it happened so quick. Like all of a sudden we couldn't go to campus, we couldn't leave our homes, businesses were closed, and I feel like no one really knew what to do and with a lot of uncertainty. But at the same time, I feel like it also happened very slowly, which is kind of a weird feeling.
TC: And how was your academic career impacted?
PD: I think I got lucky. I think people who were in my ear at this time. I was finishing up my first year of medical school, starting my second, which is mostly classwork, and I think that that was probably the best position for me to be in with Covid. Because a lot of medical school at the time was already like, you watch lectures on your computer, you do a lot of flashcards. You're doing things by yourself. You don't really need to be anywhere, particularly except for maybe clinical skills training. But even then, the first, the clinical skills training you get in the first two years of medical school is pretty, minor. So I don't feel like academically at that point that was really affected. But I've noticed that with some of my colleagues who are like trying to make the transition from the MD PhD years. They didn't know if they could start in a lab or do the in-person things that they needed to do to progress throughout their, their career. I actually think that for me, it was it was a good thing because I tend to work alone at home. So the hardest thing I think academically was like not having the option to go out as a break or, you know, study at a cafe if I wanted to. And so it took I feel like it just taught me a lot of discipline of how to be. Productive in one space and manage my energy and my time in a confined area.
TC: What kept you busy during lockdown and were you living in Detroit at the time?
PD: So I didn't leave Detroit. I was, you know, since moving to Detroit, I lived here. Actually, my my now wife was with me when Covid started happening because we were trying to go on this trip. And so she got stuck and she got stuck in Detroit for, I think, three months. So that was kind of nice. And what was that? What can I say? I was at the time, I was. I had a leadership position on the executive, the student Senate, where I was essentially in charge of helping the student organizations help, like, student organizations basically find funding, organize their events and stuff like that. It was called the Board of Student Organizations president. And so I had an interesting challenge of like having to help students figure out how do they keep their clubs running. Would not be able to meet in person or abide by these changing and fluctuating guidelines that we were getting from the CDC, from the school and from everybody. And so that kept me very busy at the same time. This was also when the George Floyd problem was happening, and there was a lot of like, outreach that people wanted to do. But then I had to sometimes play the bad guy and say like, no, you can't do that because of the Covid guidelines. And, you know, kind of became a lightning rod in some regards. But, yeah, I just feel like that was what, you know, I was trying to help people. Pursue the things that they want to pursue and at the same time keep them safe. And also not become, you know, not be, I got no problem getting charged with, the school. Yeah, that's what I like to do. I like to make sure I kind of like to help people. Do facilitate the things that they want to do. They make it possible for them. It's kind of like my partners. And so I felt like I was in a good position for me during Covid. Do that yeah.
TC: Okay. And how was the transition from, I guess you kind of answer this little.
PD: Yeah. Like I said.
TC: In person to online and then going from online to in person.
PD: I did a lot of things online already. And so it wasn't a big transition for me. At least I didn't mind it. I also had my, my my wife there with me. And I had roommates at the time cuz I feel like I was getting that socialization. So the transitioning from in-person was not in-person to online was going to be harder than just getting back in person was also fine for me as well. I was okay.
TC: And what was it like interacting with your family that lived outside of your home?
PD: My family lived outside of my home. We also lived in Hawaii.
TC: Right. Which is.
PD: It was a lot of the same, I think. You know, I don't I only see them once a year. So I was mostly worried that something was going to happen to them. And me not being able to fly back and be there for them. Fortunately nothing happened. My grandparents were there. Probably healthier than I am. But they are. Everyone was okay. And it was just, you know, interesting to navigate the uncertainties because they had a lot of different kinds of uncertainties in Hawaii, and they didn't try. I think. You know, in Detroit there's a lot of more indoor public spaces, but Hawaii is a lot more outdoor public spaces. And so the debates were kind of a little bit different there.
TC: Well, I wanted to go back to. You said you were finishing your first year of medical school.
PD: I just finished that year. It was 2020, right after I'd finished my first year medical school. It was in the middle of the second year, I think.
TC: Okay, so when did you start your PhD?
PD: I started my PhD in 2021, technically.
TC: So it was it was still like Covid.
PD: Covid. Yes. Yeah.
TC: And so what was that like?
PD: Oh, it wasn't too bad. My boss didn't care about the Covid restrictions. And as long as, like, there was a way for us to be in the lab, we could be in the lab. So I think. Then that way. I don't feel like you really helped me up at all. For better or for worse, you know.
TC: How long have you been in the city? And, Wayne, when the lockdown happened.
PD: So I came in 2020, 2019. That's why I came to Detroit. So I really only got like. I think it's two years. Yes, maybe a year and a half of real Detroit before Covid.
TC: Hit, right? In. When did you. You got into wine at the same time? Yeah.
PD: I wasn't here.
TC: Before. Okay. Okay. Are there any additional thoughts that you have about the Covid era and the lockdown or.
PD: Yeah, I.
TC: How Wayne state handled it.
PD: Or so I feel like it was full of a lot of frustration for people. And I recognize that. And I feel very grateful and lucky that I. Nothing terrible happened to my family, to me, to people close to me, as far as I know. And. I, you know, again, I'm just grateful for that. But I recognize that it wasn't easy for everyone. And everyone has different challenges depending on what sector of industry they worked in, what kind of job they had. It was kind of sad to see like how the world changed from Covid. I feel like. You know, my my, my wife lives in New York. And New York has changed a lot. Like, Detroit was very different after Covid. And so it's really welcome to imprint on the world. But I think that, you know, the way that the medical what I wanted to say with the medical school, I feel handled it very well despite people's frustrations with it. Having the opportunity to kind of see behind closed doors and be involved in the conversations that were shaping the like, like our policies was, you know, I recognize the challenging it was from them. And I feel like. That's not something that a lot of. Students kind of could appreciate, like, they were just as stressed as we were. Right? Because they don't want. I guess the medical school works nightmare is that their students fail. Right. And they were doing everything that they could to make sure that their students didn't fail, whether the students told them or not. But that's here in Carlisle that they had to, follow. Yeah.
TC: And one more question that I'm sure earlier. Yeah. What is your, your field of study, like, your program that you're doing in medical school?
PD: Oh, yeah. So I'm an MD, PhD student, which means that we do medical school and research training to become a what's called a physician scientist. And we are specially trained to conduct research on, like human diseases. So that's that's what I do. I started in 2019. I will end in 2026. I did the math right. And my PhD training was technically in cancer biology, but it was a lot of immunology, and so did a rare, a rare pediatric hematological disease. And so I kind of also do like genetics of skin diseases, too. So I kind of got gobbled everywhere in immunology.
TC: Okay. Thank you.
PD: Yeah. No problem.
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Citation
“Peter Dimitrion, August 18th, 2024,” Detroit Historical Society Oral History Archive, accessed December 6, 2024, https://oralhistory.detroithistorical.org/items/show/1053.