Tale of Two Careers

Like many graduates of medical school, Michele Torres-Winburn set out to practice family medicine. But somewhere along the way, the Wright State University alumna discovered a different passion.

Torres-Winburn, M.D., gravitated with laser-beam intensity to hospital medicine, drawn by the magnetic pull of the end-of-life care she did with patients.

“I had an experience with a patient where I ended up being an advocate for him at the end of his life,” she recalled. “I just felt I could better talk to families about it, and I didn’t mind talking to families about it. That’s what really drew me in because the families really connected with me in the process.”

Michele is a hospitalist, a specialized group of medical caregivers who oversee a patient’s hospital care. Hospitalists help manage the hospital process, communicate with the often- numerous physicians involved in the patient’s care, and directly interact with the patient’s family. She is also an associate professor for the Department of Family Medicine at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine.

“I do like taking care of the sicker patients,” said Michele. “I feel like we see a lot of difference in our patients right away. In the hospital, people turn around in a day or in hours sometimes.”

Michele isn’t the only Wright State grad in the family. So is her husband, RoShawn Winburn, a military veteran and investment advisor.

When Michele and RoShawn bumped into each other during registration at Wright State in 1994, it was a reunion of two friends from high school days. It was also the beginning of a romance that ultimately resulted in their marriage.

Today, the couple balances hectic and irregular work schedules with raising two daughters at their home in suburban Huber Heights. They look back wistfully on their days at Wright State.

Michele remembers acts of kindness that enabled her to stay on track in her medical studies—how she was permitted to wear a hazmat mask during anatomy class in medical school to protect her unborn baby from formaldehyde fumes; how the professors recorded their lectures and had them delivered to her after she was ordered to remain in bed during the final weeks of her pregnancy.

“They saw a potential in me to allow me to do things a little bit outside the norm to still be able to succeed,” she said.

RoShawn remembers learning about the world of high finance by digging into the abundance of expertise Wright State had to offer, getting to know his professors, and availing himself of finance-related clubs and extracurricular activities. He learned real-world investing, stock selection, and how to present to an audience.

“I was going to school during the day and working the evenings and at night,” he recalled. “There were a lot of resources available on campus, but you had to go and kind of get them yourself.”

RoShawn grew up in Dayton. His mother is an educator and his father, Roland, is a psychologist by training who currently serves as a state representative for the 40th Ohio House District.

RoShawn became interested in the stock market as a student at Chaminade Julienne Catholic High School when he had to select stocks as part of a social studies project.

He also became interested in financial careers—reading Forbes magazine and watching Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous—and learned that many of the most successful businessmen attributed their success to the discipline they learned while in the military.

RoShawn enlisted in the Air Force, spending his military career in security.

Following basic and technical training, RoShawn attended The Ohio State University and worked at a local radio station before transferring to Wright State, then one of the few schools in the nation to offer a degree in financial services.

Michele spent her early years in her native Puerto Rico. She arrived in the United States at age 7 when her parents took jobs at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton.

“I can remember being excited about seeing snow,” she recalled.

Michele attended Stebbins High School, where she learned about Horizons in Medicine, a medical-career program that landed her a one-year scholarship to Wright State.

She obtained her bachelor’s degree in chemistry and master’s degree in organic chemistry before going on to medical school at the university. There, she had to juggle marriage, pregnancy, and studies before graduating in 2003.

“Wright State helped me a lot of times in getting through tough times,” she said. “I was able to connect a lot with my professors. The mentorship I received there was huge.”

As Michele’s medical career was getting started, so was her husband’s financial career. In 2008, RoShawn founded what is now Aspyre Advisors, a Dayton firm that offers investment management, retirement planning, small business consulting, and other financial services.

It was the realization of a dream that had begun back in high school. RoShawn uses his financial skills to touch people on a human level.

“I didn’t want to be stuck behind a desk all day. I didn’t want to be crunching numbers on the computer,” he said. “I wanted to get out and meet individuals and assist them.”

In 2009, RoShawn completed his MBA at Wright State, with a concentration in management, innovation, and change.

Despite their hectic careers and busy family life, the couple finds time to relax and de-stress. Michele is a runner who has completed a couple of half marathons and typically logs about 18 miles a week. RoShawn watches movies to relax, but admits he’s a bit of a workaholic.

“His work is his hobby,” said Michele. “He reads financial stuff for fun. That’s his pastime.”

Although their Wright State days are behind them, the memories are still fresh for RoShawn and Michele. The couple realizes the university was a launching pad for their careers—and for a life together.