LECOM at Elmira is doing something rare: bringing smart, civic-minded students to the Southern Finger Lakes and giving them reasons to stay.
When the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine opened its Elmira campus in the summer of 2020, it brought something the Southern Tier had been working toward for years: a medical school in a region that needed one.
The numbers tell part of the story. The $20 million, 52,000-square-foot facility on the Elmira College campus was built with a $3 million boost from New York State’s Regional Economic Development Council. Early projections estimated the campus would generate more than $60 million in direct and indirect economic impact during its startup period alone, create over 300 jobs, and add $1.7 million in taxes to the Southern Tier. As the campus grows toward its eventual enrollment of 480 students, those numbers continue to climb.
But the larger story, the one that matters most to the communities of Chemung County and the broader Southern Finger Lakes region, is what LECOM at Elmira is doing beyond the classroom. More than 70 percent of LECOM graduates nationally go on to become primary care physicians: exactly the kind of doctor that rural and underserved communities need most. The Elmira campus was built specifically to address a critical physician shortage in the Southern Tier, and its students don’t wait until graduation to get involved. From Teddy Bear Clinics and health expos to Thursday dinners at the Neighborhood Transformation Center, LECOM students are woven into the fabric of Elmira life in ways that go well beyond the relationship between a commuter student and a host city.
They also, it turns out, tend to fall for the place.
Coming from New Hampshire: Taylor Gagne-Hatfield’s First Year in Elmira
When Taylor Gagne-Hatfield arrived in Elmira in the fall of 2024, fresh from New Hampshire and stepping into his first year of osteopathic medical school, his expectations were modest.
“I expected it to be slower-paced and more ‘small town,” he said — appealing in concept, but with a quiet worry underneath it. Would there be enough to do? Would he find his people?
The slower pace was real. Everything else surprised him.
Now in his second year, Taylor is deeply embedded in student leadership and community outreach at LECOM, focused on connecting the school with the Elmira area and promoting access to care. He volunteers locally, stays involved in student organizations, and has come to appreciate something about small-community life that he hadn’t fully anticipated: the feeling that what you do here actually lands.
“In a smaller community, volunteering and outreach don’t feel like drops in the ocean — they feel tangible,” he said. “I’ve had opportunities to work with local clinics, community events, and organizations in a way that feels very direct and meaningful.”
That same quality carries into the off-hours. Corning has become a favorite for food and a change of scenery. Ithaca is close enough for a longer day trip. Watkins Glen — with the gorge trail winding through layered shale and mist — is the kind of place that reminds you why you moved somewhere with four seasons.
“The best parts of living here are the day trips and the season-to-season rhythm,” Taylor said. “People talk about the Finger Lakes like it’s one place, but it’s really a collection of small communities, each with its own vibe.”
His advice to anyone considering the area: give it a real chance before forming an opinion — and understand that “nearby” means something different here.
“A lot of the region’s charm is subtle, and it opens up once you find your spots and your routines. Also, you learn quickly that ‘nearby’ means a 20–45 minute drive, and that’s just normal here.”
For people who want a stable, affordable life with access to beautiful scenery and the chance to actually matter in their community, Taylor is direct: “This area really works.”
From Long Island to Elmira Heights: Victoria Wang Finds Home in a Renovated Schoolhouse
Victoria Wang grew up spending summers in Watkins Glen — the Harbor Hotel, Seneca Lake, camping at Clute Park, hiking through the gorges with friends. The Finger Lakes weren’t unknown to her when she moved here from Long Island in the summer of 2024 to begin medical school at LECOM. But living in it full-time is something different.
Victoria and her partner Teddy found an apartment in a renovated school building in Elmira Heights — a residential neighborhood with a small-town center and shopping in Horseheads just 10 minutes away. The logistics of the move from Long Island were the hardest part; everything else came together faster than expected.
“Meeting friends who are from the area made a huge difference,” she said. “They were able to point us in the direction of really great hangout spots and coffee places. As we started to frequent those places, it was really awesome getting to know the people who work there — it helped make Elmira feel like home.”
Now in her second year, Victoria chairs LECOM’s Pediatrics Club, which partners with local organizations to run Teddy Bear Clinics — medical play events that help young children feel more comfortable in healthcare settings. She also volunteers regularly with the Neighborhood Transformation Center, helping with Thursday Dinners and community events organized in partnership with LECOM. It’s a level of engagement that would have felt abstract back on Long Island.
“I love the community feel in Elmira,” she said. “It’s a smaller town than where I used to live, and I really love that a lot of people know and work to help each other. There are so many opportunities to get involved and get to know people on so many different paths of life.”
A typical weekday for Victoria involves class in the morning, studying at a coffee shop or Elmira College in the afternoon, and ending the day with Teddy at New York Sport and Fitness before going home to cook dinner. When the schedule opens up, they head to Corning or Ithaca with friends. In the summer, she reads on the lake at Watkins Glen. In winter, they ski at Bristol Mountain in Canandaigua.
What she didn’t expect was the views. Even the drive to get groceries.
“Even driving to get groceries or walking down the stairs from our apartment, there are green trees lining the highways and colorful foliage during the fall. Harris Hill has the prettiest sunsets in the summer. It’s made it hard for us to want to go back to the city.”
Her advice to anyone thinking about relocating: explore, get involved, and don’t be afraid to talk to strangers at a brewery, a winery, or a local event.
“Everyone is so welcoming, and it is incredibly fun to meet new people with different life experiences.”
What LECOM Is Building Here
Both Taylor and Victoria arrived at medical school. What they found was a community that met them more than halfway: affordable, accessible, and genuinely oriented toward connection rather than transaction.
That’s not a coincidence. It reflects something LECOM at Elmira was designed to produce. The campus exists at the intersection of education and community service, and its students — drawn from across the country, relocating to a city many of them had never visited — are increasingly becoming residents, volunteers, and neighbors who stake something real in Elmira’s future.
Dr. Zach Dunbar, a LECOM faculty member who teaches basic sciences at the Elmira campus, knows this dynamic from both sides. He grew up near Elmira, left, then came back to find a community that had changed around him in the best ways. “What I found when I came back was an amazing and vibrant community I never knew was here,” he’s said. He now co-leads Equity Barbell, a nonprofit gym and community advocacy organization in Elmira that grew out of exactly the kind of grassroots engagement the city makes possible.
For a region that spent decades watching young people leave for bigger cities, LECOM at Elmira represents something worth paying attention to: a pipeline of smart, civic-minded people who come for school and, more often than not, find they want to stay.
LECOM at Elmira is located at 1 LECOM Place, Elmira, NY 14901. Learn more at lecom.edu.
Thinking about making the Southern Finger Lakes your home? Whether you’re relocating for school, work, or a change of pace, our Help Me Move page is a great place to start — and our Life & Lifestyle section shows you what living here actually looks like.