In this week’s Fellow Spotlight, we are catching up with Tom Schuelke. He fills us in on what he enjoys most about living in the city, and his position at Beaumont Health System.

Tom, growing up in Rockford, living in Ann Arbor, what have you enjoyed most about living in Detroit?

The ability to walk to great restaurants and attractions. I especially love the proximity of Motor City Brewing and Traffic Jam and Snug. Also, I cannot express enough how amazing Eastern Market is. Never before had I bought all of my produce at a farmers market, but in Detroit, I have been since discovering Eastern Market.

After completing your MBA, many of your classmates traveled to big cities like Chicago and New York. What drew you to Detroit?

The Challenge Detroit program itself. I decided to pursue my MBA with the hope of getting a job that would allow me to make a difference in people’s lives. I saw the opportunity to do this in the Challenge Detroit program.

Tell us about your host-company and what you do?

I work for the Beaumont Health System (BHS). BHS has three nationally ranked hospitals and primarily serves Southeast Michigan, with the flagship hospital located in Royal Oak. Yes, this is the same Beaumont with the infamous “Do you have a Beaumont Doctor?” commercials.  I work as a direct report to the COO and VP of Beaumont Physician Partners as a project manager.

What is a unique project you are working on at Beaumont?

I am leading a project to consolidate and synchronize physician data throughout the health system. As of right now, my goal is to improve efficiencies in how physician data is stored at Beaumont to ensure all departments have the most accurate and up-to-date information.

What is your favorite aspect of the team challenges?

I love how varied the projects are. In just one year, I will be able to say that I’ve influenced positive change in Detroit in areas like community art, bike advocacy and homelessness. Very few job descriptions would allow me this kind of breadth in my work.

How do you see your prior working experience impacting these challenges?

My job prior to going to school to get my MBA was in software management. While I don’t think that my software experience will directly help, I’m hoping that my project management experience will allow me to guide our teams to delivering great results! 

Tell us about your cheesecake?

Hahaha…they don’t call it world-famous for nothing! The one I am making in the video has a layer of lemon cheesecake on top of a layer of raspberry cheesecake on top of a homemade lemon crust. “World-famous” might be a bit of an exaggeration, but they are pretty tasty. Just ask any of the fellows that got to try the one in the video at our Thanksgiving potluck. Also in my repertoire: pistachio-lime cheesecake and chocolate mint cheesecake.

Check out Tom’s personal blog here, and his spotlight video.