LOCKNEY, Texas (KCBD) – Dr. Ben Bennaci spent 18 years teaching science at Monterey High School and Frenship before making a career change that brought him to rural medicine in West Texas. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was 48 when I started medical school, so definitely a midlife crisis kind of thing,\u201d Bennaci said.<\/p>\n
Bennaci said the decision after his daughter graduated high school in 2017, prompting him to reassess his next chapter. <\/p>\n
\u201cI was thinking, \u2018what am I going to do with myself now?\u2019\u201d Bennaci said. <\/p>\n
He said a Mark Twain quote shaped his thinking. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t regret the things in life that we did. We regret the things in life we didn\u2019t do,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
Bennaci earned his medical degree from the University of Texas School of Medicine in Galveston and completed his residency at Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Odessa. <\/p>\n
Bennaci said an interest in rural medicine guided where he chose to practice. <\/p>\n
\u201cI had thought of rural medicine being a need area and something I was interested in,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n
That led him to Mangold Memorial\u2019s Cogdell Clinic in 2024. He credited Drs. Mangold and Stennett with fostering a learning environment and leading the way for new physicians at the clinic.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo it\u2019s been a fantastic place for me to land at. And I\u2019ve been enjoying it tremendously since I\u2019ve been here,\u201d Bennaci said. <\/p>\n
Bennaci said the community itself has been a draw. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing about West Texas is the people,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there\u2019s just something about the folks around here.\u201d <\/p>\n
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