LIVERMORE – When Brad Boothby was growing up, he helped his family on Century Elm Farm. He worked beside his grandfather Les Boothby picking corn. Back then, he thought about becoming a stockbroker.

His grandfather, who has since died, used to joke with his grandson that he had two choices: He could become a lawyer or a doctor.

Boothby didn’t like the law, but did find anatomy and physiology classes interesting, so he decided to study medicine.

His goal when he graduated as valedictorian of the Livermore Falls High School Class of 2000 was to be a doctor.

That’s still his goal, but he has added a twist: He will also be an Army officer.

In his earlier planning he did not think about serving in the Army, but that changed when he was looking for a way to pay for medical school.

Boothby, 22, graduated from Boston University this spring with a history degree and a 3.8 grade point average. He completed pre-medical courses and some medical classes.

After Labor Day, he enters medical school at Boston University.

He was awarded a military scholarship that pays for his schooling and gives him a stipend. In return, he’ll serve four years as an Army doctor after he graduates medical school and completes his residency.

He’ll be 30 or so when he begins his military service.

In the meantime, Boothby, an emergency medical technician, is working for an ambulance company in Boston and enjoying it.

He mostly does nursing home transfers, but does handle some emergency situations.

He’s getting some medical experience and interacting with patients, Boothby said.

“I like learning new things and I like interacting with people,” he said. “I like to take what I’ve learned and put it to work by talking to patients and getting medical history.”

Working 26-hour shifts as a medical technician will help him adjust to the long hours of residency shifts, he said.

“It’s an insane system,” he said of the latter.

When he gets woken up in the middle of the night during his ambulance shift to respond to a medical emergency, he said, “you kind of get an adrenaline kick.”

Boothby, who starred in several school theater productions and wrote articles for the Lumberjack Journal, never thought of becoming an emergency medical technician and going into the Army.

“I would have never thought of myself as that sort of guy,” Boothby said.