It was the start of summer 2008 and a new high school graduate from Eliot, ME was hired by co-owner Jeff Porter to work at Ogunquit’s popular restaurant, Café Prego.

Colby Nixon, who was bound for the University of Vermont in August, was thrilled to be a part of the Prego team and set off for one of his first work shifts, unaware of the inevitable summer traffic that would make him late to his new job. To make matters worse, when he had the opportunity to meet the other co-owner, Donato Tramuto, he was convinced that he made a ‘terrible impression’ and vowed right then to work the entire summer without another late arrival, committed to fully redeeming himself with Donato.

His hard work paid off and he and Donato enjoyed several subsequent conversations throughout the summer. “He took notice that I was a hard worker,” Colby recalled. “We talked quite a bit and I told him my dream was to go to medical school.” That piqued Donato’s interest and Colby’s journey to become a medical professional would be helped along the way with a couple of scholarships from the Tramuto Foundation.

Colby recalled that his first semester in Vermont did not go as well as planned. “I wrote to Donato and told him about my unimpressive semester and I explained that I had not earned a second installment of my Foundation scholarship. He wrote me back saying that although my first semester was not what he or I expected, he still believed in me and supported me. He said it was important for me not to dwell on the past, to pick myself up and continue the hard work it would take to succeed.”

Fast forward more than 10 years and today Colby is just finishing medical school at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, WA. He is preparing for a trip back east to start a 3-year residency at Baystate Health in Springfield, MA and credits his desire to remain focused on a career in healthcare to his former boss and longtime mentor, Donato.

Colby, following the white coat ceremony, marking the start of medical school at Pacific Northwest University.

Through his undergraduate studies in Vermont, graduate school at Tufts University and medical school in Washington, Colby and Donato stayed connected. And over the many years, when he would be back in Maine for the summer or semester breaks, Colby would continue to pick up shifts at Caffé Prego. “I always needed extra cash, and Jeff and Donato would let me help out at the restaurant,” he noted.

Aware of his continued focus on healthcare as a future career, Donato invited Colby to intern one summer at his former company, Skyscape, in Marlborough, MA. After he graduated UVM, Colby interned at Donato’s former company, Physicians Interactive (now Aptus Health) in Woburn, MA. “He was always interested in helping me gain more exposure to different areas within the healthcare profession,” Colby said.

Colby’s connection to Donato, Jeff and Caffé Prego was deepened by a young woman he met at the restaurant in the summer of 2013. Agnė Šveistytė was from Lithuania, a law student who would go on to earn her degree in 2015 from Vilnius University back in her native country. She was one of several staff working at the restaurant with J-1 visas and enjoying the summers in beautiful Ogunquit. Donato was equally impressed with Agnė and in 2016 he set her up with an internship in the legal department at Healthways (now Tivity Health, where Donato serves as CEO), where she worked for four months while deciding whether to attend graduate or medical school.

Colby and Agnė, at their wedding in Lithuania.

Since that time, Colby and Agnė have married and while he is starting his residency in Springfield, MA, Agnė will be studying to take her medical school admissions test.

“I am so grateful to the Tramuto Foundation and the role it has played in my life,” Colby said. “I often think of when Donato accepted the Ripple of Hope Award from Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights. Senator Kennedy had talked about the impact of standing up and helping others in need, and how that act will have a ripple effect on all of society. I understand now that we have come full circle because of the kindness and generosity Donato has shown me over the past 10 years, and his willingness to continue to believe in me, which has allowed me to pursue my dream of becoming a doctor and helping others in need.”