Claire Pileri’s adventure began overseas. At age 2, Claire moved with her family to Paris, France and then to London, England where she began school. Growing up in different countries gave her an appreciation for all kinds of differences between cultures. For example, she learned that “chips” in England are actually French fries…which are not even French at all! Or that the Queen’s Guards will really not smile no matter how much you try to make them. More importantly, she learned about one of the most powerful similarities between all people, the love for their children. It is this simple realization that sparked a passion for children and eventually lead to a calling to care for them through medicine. She soon began her career at Indiana University, pursuing an undergraduate degree in Neuroscience and Liberal Arts Management. She then went to Iowa and attended Des Moines University, for medical school. There she learned the basics of medicine, gaining the skills necessary to be a physician. She also met her future husband during her first year of medical school, unexpectedly, on the way to a morning exam.

Ever the great team, they relied on each other to get through the stress of medical school and attempted many new adventures together. One such adventure was their whirlwind 4th year rotation schedule in numerous different places, accumulating new and wonderful experiences in the process. They rotated in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Tulsa and Florida and moved each and every month of their 4th year. With a little luck, serendipity and Google searching, they stumbled upon a rotation in Tulsa, OK. Right away, they felt at home around the kind people, warm summers, amazing food and artsy feel. They also felt in love with the residency programs, respectively. Finally, after months of waiting for placements, in March of 2016, they both matched into University of Oklahoma – Tulsa, Residency Programs; Jake into Internal Medicine and Claire into Pediatrics. They are both ecstatic with their matches. “We constantly feel supported and encouraged by our programs and are happy to have roots in a town we love”. The next chapter of their story is still unfolding. Claire continues to look for her next big adventure, possibly through NICU or PICU fellowships. Whatever the future holds, she is excited to continue to explore Tulsa, strive to become an asset to the community and to grow in her medical knowledge to better help children.