‘Part of the family’: MCG security officer transforms students’ experiences

Officer Larry Carter is more than just a security guard at Augusta University’s Medical College of Georgia. He’s a friend, a mentor, a confidant and even a father figure to the students who see him every day.

“The first year when they come in, they’re timid, and they don’t know which way to go and how to do this or how to do that, and anything that I can do to help them, that’s why I’m here,” Carter said. “I don’t look at it as being a job title; that’s just my security for them, and I love doing that. Sometimes they have a little problem, they come and talk to me, and I give them words of encouragement.”

Morgan Victoria Town, MD, graduated from MCG this spring, and said Carter’s support helped shape her medical school experience monumentally.

“He’s always a part of the family, especially from the first day that we get to medical school,” she said. “You don’t realize how big a part of your life that he’s going to be, but to walk in to Harrison every day and see him smiling – he’s so proud of all of us. He’s like the grandfather that I just had there.”

Carter’s other job as an associate minister at Ross Grove Baptist Church in Augusta has been useful in lifting students’ spirits. He’s been there for them while they were struggling with the pressure of medical school or dealing with personal issues at home.

“Mr. Larry is a great individual; he’s been very supportive since my first year, all the way up until I was graduating today,” said Destine Ede, MD, a Spring 2025 graduate of MCG. “He’s very influential, always has positive energy whenever we walk in to Harrison, despite how down we’re feeling or if we’re stressed out about something. His energy and his smile would always give us joy and a sense that we can do this, we can continue.”

Town echoed Ede’s sentiments.

“During the hardest times, the longest hours, I don’t think even he understands how important it is and how phenomenal he is to have that shining light constantly that doesn’t waver,” she said.

“You can’t say that you know their feelings because you really don’t, but you can console them by letting them know that healing is going to take some time, but God says that weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Joy is going to come,” Carter said.

He’s been making his rounds and ensuring safety at MCG and DCG since 2018, and in those seven years, his presence has been a constant that the students have learned to expect and count on.

“If I don’t tell them I’m taking the day off, they ask me where I’ve been,” he said with a laugh. “I love to be here with the students. I love them. I mean, it just inspires me to see them excel.”

During the pandemic, the MCG building was like a ghost town due to the shift to remote learning. However, Carter still reported for duty every day, waiting patiently to see his favorite students again.

“They came up to me and said, ‘Oh, God, are we glad to be back. We’re happy to see you,’ and I said, ‘And I missed y’all, also.’ They look at me as a friend, and that’s the most important thing they need – a friend.”

Many of the students don’t know that their friend is a man of many talents, and a few of them were quite shocked when they saw him on stage at MCG’s Got Talent with his gospel group, The Bright Stars of Augusta.

“Seeing their reactions, that was a memorable moment. They said, ‘Officer Carter, we didn’t know that you could sing!’ Their faces lit up, and that gives me joy,” he said.

Arguably, the most touching thing about Carter’s relationship with the students is how he makes it a point to attend their awards ceremonies and cheer them on as they take the next steps in their careers.

He attended this year’s MCG Match Day and was at the organized dinner for graduates before the school’s hooding ceremony.

“They invite me to everything they have,” he said. “The only time I can’t make it sometimes is because I have an engagement with the gospel group.”

Students shared that it’s a full-circle moment to go from apprehensive yet bright-eyed first-year medical students to graduates, with Carter being there for them through all their phases.

“He always treats us with a smile, always shakes our hands, asks how things are going. Doesn’t matter how much time has been between the last time I saw him,” said Tylin Siwemuke, MD, another 2025 MCG graduate.

While this may be an unlikely friendship, it’s clear that the bond Carter and the students have created is woven into the fabric of their medical school experience, and it’s something that will stand the test of time.

“Officer Carter was such a breath of fresh air! Spending so much time at Harrison in medical school could be exhausting, but the relief of knowing that he would be there and reliably be in such a good mood meant everything,” said Susan Brands, MD, a 2021 MCG graduate who went on to be an emergency medical doctor at Wellstar MCG Health.

For students like Town, Ede and Siwemuke, Carter has a message he wants to pass on.

“I really enjoyed them the whole four years that they’ve been here with me, and going on and pursuing a career – that’s my most important thing that I can encourage them to do – reach as high as they can go. Don’t stop. Just remain focused on what you’re doing and let nothing turn you around.”