This week’s interviewee—Thomas Leventhal—contacted me after reading my desperate plea from last week and volunteered himself as the subject of my column. (He noted that he’d also had a little bit of “encouragement” from his older brother Joe who had been one of my first subjects).
Tom had specific memories of his high school years. They all involved the friendships and relationships that were made and continue on to this day. He can flashback immediately to watching his best friends play Friday-night football, participate in massive video game tournaments, have sledding parties, and laugh constantly. As Tom notes, “after twenty-five plus years removed, and having lived across much of the U.S., it is so clear now that the people I encountered in high school had two different consistent attributes: they were grounded, and they were genuine. We were all so different but could all laugh hysterically in Adult Rec class or share our struggles of meeting expectations in our Composition class. These characteristics have been my ‘shining star’ for who I want to be in all the relationships I have. Weekly texts and phone calls with many members of the Class of ’99 are a standard in my life!”
When it comes to favorite teachers, Dr. Warren Puhl and Mike Soha were instrumental in building his love of everything science. He can remember things smoking in the chemical hoods of chemistry class and the intermittent appearance of Dr. Puhl’s puppet Sven to lighten the mood! Mr. Soha’s approach to education seemed to engage every student, and his calm demeanor and stories made the learning fun.
As for educators who have had the most long-lasting impacts on Tom as a person and in his career were non-science teachers Bill Ellison (art), Margaret Kitze (composition), Bob Peterson (history), and Mrs. Foust (middle school reading). All did something that, at the time infuriated him but now he admits they imprinted on him—HIGH EXPECTATIONS. “No bullshit (Tom’s word, not mine!) allowed, give your best effort every time, and take responsibility for your actions. Ask any of my current colleagues and they will share that this sums up my mantra to this day. For that early education, I am eternally grateful.”
When asked about his participation in sports and clubs, he said that he “dabbled” in basketball, track and soccer. Although he never would claim to be a high-level athlete, he admitted to loving practices more than the games/events. He hopes to be remembered for being the guy who cheered the loudest for his teammates during the game. Regardless of his abilities, Tom said it was being a member of the team that was great for personal growth and camaraderie in the good and bad, all while being a part of something bigger.
Besides athletics, Tom was in jazz band, Science Olympiad and student government. (He laughs at this last activity as he is still the Class of ’99 Treasurer “to the end!”) Earning an appreciation for musical art, pushing scientific knowledge early in life, and learning the skills of politicking and negotiation have all carried him to his current point in life.
Tom worked for two summers for the City of Menomonie Parks Department. Always loving to be outside, summers filled with cleaning, mowing, painting and grooming baseball diamonds was the PERFECT summer job. He noted this was all made better by riding around in trucks with friends Chad Thomas and Ryan Fekete while practicing their CB skills!
After high school, Tom attended the University of Notre Dame, graduating with a degree in Pre-Professional Studies. He went on to medical school at Loyola University of Chicago. While there, Tom admitted loving every medical specialty he rotated through, but ultimately fell in love with the complexities of liver disease. This determined his next several steps—moving to Minneapolis to complete both his Internal Medicine residency and a Gastroenterology Fellowship at the University of Minnesota for a total of seven years. Tom added, “And, YES, I do colonoscopies!”
“I really lucked out when I met my future wife in the program.” He and Katie married in their last year of training in Minnesota. They moved to California to complete a Transplant Hepatology Fellowship at UCSF. This was an intensive one-year training in the care of persons with liver disease, those needing a transplant and their care afterwards. To complete his training, they moved to the South Bay area where he completed a year of Critical Care Medicine—learning the nuances of caring for the “sickest of the sick.”
All these steps were necessary to do the medical work that he ultimately wanted to do—taking care of the sickest patients (often those with liver disease or cirrhosis). Liver disease is complex and patients get incredibly sick very quickly. Tom has always seen this as a challenge he wanted to take on.
The Leventhals moved to Kansas City where Tom took his first job practicing both transplant hepatology and critical care medicine. “The learning curve was high, and I definitely earned my chops in the two years there.” But the pull of the upper Midwest was strong! His mother still lived in Menomonie, Katie’s family is from central Minnesota, and the majority of his high school and medical school friends were living around the Twin Cities. When a job opened at the University of Minnesota, the couple moved back and he worked as an ICU physician caring for the critically ill at University Hospital.
Tom works as a Transplant Hepatologist at a program that has nearly doubled the number of yearly transplants since he started there; the facility is on track to provide life-saving liver transplants to 140 adults in 2026.
In 2023, Tom took on the new role of Medical Director for the Donor Care Unit. In this role he provides medical care for…dead people. “Yup. It was hard for me to wrap my brain around this, too! I have the responsibility of providing optimal ICU-level care for individuals who have been officially declared dead and wish to be organ donors. They continue on life-support and are transferred to our dedicated intensive care unit, while my team has the single goal of maximizing the quality and number of organs that can be used to provide lifesaving transplants to those in need across the U.S. I have found incredible self-purpose in this work, doing everything I can with the medical skills I have learned to maximize the most amazing and precious gift one can give. This work has given me incredible opportunities to partner with physicians across the country in scholarly and research work…constantly looking to help even more people in need of organ transplants.”
“Since moving back to the Twin Cities, we settled down and began our family. Katie is an Internist and Pediatrician working as a primary care provider in the East Metro. We have a six-year-old son Max and a four-year-old daughter Chloe who make us laugh/cry/dance/laugh again/ and drive us delightfully crazy. Our home roots are strong and we live on several acres in the middle of the woods near Mahtomedi.”
And here it comes, folks—my final question: What do you feel are some of the qualities that made growing up in Menomonie special to you?
“I can look back at my experiences across the country and know that I still seek out people who are grounded and genuine. In my job I have incredibly high expectations of myself and those I train. I live in the woods, drive a truck, love watching live sports (certainly a carry-over from my youth). And, yes, I can parallel park my truck and back into a spot in the parking ramp at work. I’m most looking forward to my mini-reunion with high school friends Seth Haug, Jesse Win, and Chad Thomas late this summer—knowing my ribs will hurt from laughing and reminiscing.”
Thank you, Tom, for sharing your Menomonie memories and what your life is like since leaving Menomonie. No matter where you go, you’ll always be one of “our kids!”
A final note from Tom~~ “PLEASE register to be an organ donor – when your story ends, someone else’s can begin!”
Judy Foust is a retired longtime 7th Grade Reading Specialist at Menomonie Middle School. To submit info to her or to request an interview she may be contacted at [email protected]
