Sons follow in their mom's steps

The connection to Youngstown State University and NEOUCOM is strong.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
CANFIELD -- There's an education tradition brewing at the Miladore home on Muirfield Drive.
First, you graduate from Canfield High School at or near the top of your class, then you enroll at Youngstown State University and then earn your medical degree from the Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine.
Dr. Dianne Bitonte Miladore was the first to do it, and now her sons are following in her footsteps.
Son Michael was a valedictorian at Canfield when he graduated in 2004 and he's scheduled to graduate summa cum laude from YSU in August in the YSU and NEOUCOM BS/MD program. The program is an accelerated medical degree program that has students complete their undergraduate work at YSU in two years and then spend four years earning their medical degree at NEOUCOM in Rootstown.
He has been selected as student speaker at YSU's August commencement.
Son Nicholas is one of four valedictorians at Canfield this year and will enroll in the BS/MD program at YSU on June 19, with the intent of going on to earn a medical degree at NEOUCOM.
A third son, Joseph, is completing his freshman year at Canfield High School but has already indicated a strong interest in pursuing the same career path as his mother and older brothers.
Mother's biography
Dr. Bitonte Miladore will be Canfield's commencement speaker this year at 2 p.m. June 11 in the high school stadium. Her topic will be "The Path to Success."
She graduated from Canfield among the top 10 in her class in 1974, went on to earn her undergraduate degree at YSU in 1979 and was a member of the NEOUCOM charter class of 1981.
She serves on the clinical faculty at NEOUCOM.
Her husband, Dr. Michael J. Miladore, didn't go to Canfield but graduated from Cardinal Mooney High School.
He earned his undergraduate degree from YSU in 1977 and his medical degree from NEOUCOM in 1982.
Bitonte Miladore said their sons have always been exposed to medicine at home but weren't particularly urged to pursue the field as a career.
Career criteria
"We've encouraged it to an extent," she said, but the real emphasis was on urging the boys to search for careers that they will love, will allow them to give back to the community and will be something they would be willing to do for free.
"You have to be happy at what you're doing," she explained.
She said she isn't surprised by her sons' career choices and is thankful they want to stay in the community.
"We're very close-knit, the five of us," she said.
The family connection to YSU goes back further than mom and dad.
The Bitonte College of Health and Human Services is named in honor of Bitonte Miladore's parents, Dr. Dominic A. Bitonte, a dentist, and Helen M. Bitonte.
Bitonte Miladore is a member of the YSU Board of Trustees. Her husband is team physician for YSU sports.
In addition to being Canfield valedictorians, Nicholas and Michael had perfect high school attendance records. Nicholas also received the school's annual Math Student and Italian Student awards this year.
gwin@vindy.com