Myra

Hey everyone and thanks for visiting our page! I’m excited to be a part of the team this year and hope that you’ll keep following us here. My name is Myra Liu. I was born in Houston, TX; raised in Arlington, TX – conveniently the home of the ORIGINAL Six Flags, Ballpark in Arlington (Texas Rangers), and now the Cowboys Stadium. I graduated from Princeton University, additionally the alma mater to Woodrow Wilson, Brooke Shields, and Michelle Obama (and Ed!). After several years of enjoying the Northeast, but wondering why I was so far from home, I came back to Texas and have been fortunate enough to begin my studies this year at UTHSCSA’s medical school.

Although I have never been on an international missions trip, I am looking forward to the opportunity of providing health resources and care to the people of rural Ethiopia. One of the reasons I chose to become a doctor was simply to help others. “Others” does not merely mean the people within my community, but rather people everywhere. Furthermore, I believe it is important that I, coming from a wealthy, resource rich nation, help those in less developed nations. At the same time, I know there is much to learn from them, especially how to improvise with what little is available. I believe that what I learn, see, and experience in Ethiopia will be things that will help me better care for my patients in the future.

After a year of sitting in a classroom and learning through books, it will be exciting to be able to apply my knowledge to real world situations. Right now, medical school is filled with listening to lectures, cramming details, and staring at PowerPoint slides. At times, I find myself zoning out during class and wondering why I’m putting myself through seemingly endless hours of studying, but then I remember the real goal of becoming a doctor: service to others and making their lives better. That’s what makes all of this worthwhile.

Matt!

Hey Yall!

Thanks for choosing to help support our team's effort in providing healthcare to underserved Ethiopia. I really don't do much in the way of blogs or even facebook for that matter so I hope this comes out well. Well....my name is Matt Murrell and I am a native San Antonian. I went to high school at Health Careers, undergrad at UTSA, and now am blessed to be attending medical school at UTHSCSA. Before coming to med school, I worked for a year as a high school teacher at Reagan.

Medical school has been a challenging yet fun experience. One aspect that I love the most about our school is all the wonderful service opportunities provided to the students. Going to Ethiopia is just one of many places that our school reaches. Out of all the possible trips I could apply to be apart of, Ethiopia was my top choice. I am so blessed I was picked to go on this and can not wait to spend 3 1/2 weeks with 7 other awesome classmates. One of the reasons I want to go to Ethiopia is because I believe that as a future physician I must learn to share my knowledge, skills, and compassion with those who are in underservered areas.

During our trip to Ethiopia we will get to put to use all the countless hours of studying. Not only will we utilize our skills learned in lab but we will also get to experience what it is to truly care for the patient and the joy of a patient's smile and laughter. I hope that ya'll will follow as we continue to post more information on important fundraisers to help us to treat as many people in Ethiopia as possible. From the mission trips I have done before, I know that by the end of this trip that we will have learned and gained much, MUCH more than we will have given to the people of Ethiopia.

Edward

Hello friends!

Thanks for visiting the Ethiopia 2010 web log. While I have dabbled before as an amateur writer, this is my first venture into the blogosphere as an author, and I am excited to share with you all what promises to be an amazing experience.

My name is Edward Shipper AKA Shredward, and I was born in the District of Columbia. Within months, my family moved to Houston, TX, and that is where I spent my formative years growing up. Upon graduating from high school, I matriculated at Princeton University, alma mater to James Madison, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and David Duchovny, and convenient launch pad to the Jersey Shore. In college, I majored in history, concentrating especially on the early American period from the ratification of the Constitution up to the Civil War. Despite my passion in the pursuit of a true liberal arts education, I managed to make time to complete my pre-medical requirements, and thus I write to you now as a member of the first year class at the University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio (UTHSCSA) Medical School.

I am especially grateful for the opportunity to go to Ethiopia as a first year medical student and provide care to an underserved population. Fundamentally, I hope that I can leave Ethiopia knowing that I made a difference in someone's life. As an aspiring physician and also as a human being, I also think it is important to make efforts to become a cultured individual. I have never been to Africa, and to be honest, it is a place that I really don't know too much about. I would like to change that. I feel that being able to see how other people experience life is the best way to learn about the full range of the human condition.

Annie!

Hi everyone! Thanks so much for visiting our blog. As we prepare for this medical trip to Ethiopia, we are so excited that you are able to share this experience with us.

My name is Annie Lu; I was born in Taipei, Taiwan and moved to the US when I was very young. I grew up in Arlington, Texas and completed my undergraduate degree in Finance at Texas A&M University (whoop!). For a few years, I worked in a neuroscience lab at A&M, and though the experience was an amazing opportunity, I realized research was not in my future.

During the summer before medical school, I went overseas to Asia on a mission trip. This was an life-changing experience for me. Not only did I get to share God's gift with college students from another country, but He was also able to show me how mightily he can move and how much we need Him in our daily lives.

Now, I am extremely blessed to begin my first year in medical school in San Antonio! Although studying for classes can feel like torture, the best part of it has been getting through each day with God's strength. Because of Him, I have been able to meet the most caring friends at school, find a good fellowship and church, and have started to really enjoy my life as a medical student. Most importantly, I am constantly reminded of the main reason why I came to medical school - and that is to serve others. This is why I am excited to travel to Ethiopia this summer to help one of the most insufficient and lacking health care systems in the world.

I believe that all of us are here because of a specific purpose. Once we find that purpose, we should pursue it as hard and as passionately as we can. Our team is passionate about improving lives of our future patients, and for this summer, it will be the patients we will see in Ethiopia.

We thank you for spending the time to get to know our team better and for any help you are able to provide.


"Then the King will say... ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ "
- Matthew 25:34-40

Wade

Hello everyone,

Thank you so much for coming to check out our blog and showing your support. My name is Wade Murray and I also will be going to Ethiopia this summer. I spent the early years of my life growing up in Seattle, but moved to Pflugerville (just north of Austin) during my freshman year of high school. I attended UT Austin for undergrad and I am now lucky enough to find myself here in Medical School in San Antonio.

Medical School has been fun... and extremely challenging so far, but I am enjoying every second. A couple months ago the 1st year students were presented with many opportunities to pursue over the summer such as research programs, preceptorships, and many volunteering opportunities. Any of these would be a great experience and help me farther my medical experience, but the reason that I chose this trip to Ethiopia was because I believe the work we will do over there will greatly help those who need help the most. I know we will not be able to change everyone's life or circumstance during our short trip, but to me, any life that I can affect in a positive way is an awesome opportunity. I am truly looking forward to the chance to provide healthcare to those who would otherwise receive none.

Many of the other members on the team have done medical mission trips like this to other parts of the world during there undergraduate careers and have had wonderful experiences doing so. Unfortunately, I did not get to. I think that is another reason why I am so excited about this trip. I am ready to head out there and start learning as much as I can about practicing medicine, the Ethiopian culture, traditions and way of life. I know that it will be the experience of a lifetime.

Nishina

My name is Nishina Thomas and I am also one of the eight MS1's heading to Ethiopia in just a few months. I was born in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, raised in Sugar Land, Texas and graduated from Boston University with a degree in Human Physiology. I am glad to be back in the great state of Texas for medical school here in San Antonio!

First of all, I feel honored and blessed to have this opportunity--the opportunity to serve a community rich in culture yet lacking in healthcare resources, to travel with seven inspiring classmates, and to integrate my expanding medical knowledge with practical use. My interest for participating in this outreach project stems from a unifying factor within our group, that is, the need for healthcare in underprivileged communities. There is no doubt that underprivileged communities exist within our own cities and towns here in the United States, but I believe that witnessing the insufficient care available in a developing country will enable us as first year medical students to get outside of the clinical exposure restricted to our "backyard." I have been to Nicaragua for a similar medical mission trip in the past, but as an undergraduate student trying to figure out if and why I wanted to be a physician (photo above is our first patient Santiaga). Now that I am on my way to becoming one, I feel a greater sense of responsibility to sustain the drive that led me to choose this profession.

As I spend endless hours studying textbooks, attending lectures, and dissecting cadavers I find the need to keep the big picture in mind--serving people with healthcare. I look forward to our Ethiopia trip because we will be doing just that. Ultimately, I hope that this experience will allow me to provide unbiased and compassionate care when I do practice as a physician in the future.

Joshua

Hi, my name's Joshua. After graduating from highschool in the small town of Ingram, Tx, I attended THE University of Texas at Austin where I experienced one of the most life-changing four years yet. Now I'm back in San Antonio for Med school and enjoying getting to share the same city with family again. I love watching and playing sports: basketball, ping pong, football, etc. I also enjoy listening to and making music. If there was anything else I'd do other than medicine, music would be it.

Why do I want to go to Ethiopia? I was born and lived in Ghana, West Africa for most of my life to date. This allowed me the opportunity to witness the struggles and joys that are indigenous to developing countries. However, the encompassing cause for my desire to serve in Ethiopia and other developing countries in the future stems from several life experiences. One of such experiences, and most substantial, has been my encounter with God throughout my life, and especially in college. Experiencing God's love for me and for other people is really what motivates me to serve ; and I want to use this gift of medicine both here and, hopefully, anyplace that is in need of otherwise unattainable medical attention.

This trip to Ethiopia is such a privilege and I'm excited about working with these amazing team-mates of mine. Let's get it fam!

Katie :)

Hi my name is Katie. I was born and raised in San Antonio and schlepped off to Boston after graduating from High school. Four icy cold winters and an NCAA hockey championship later I graduated from Boston U (not to be confused with Boston College) to return back to the warm Decembers of San Antonio for medical school. In my spare time (since we have so much of it) I like to write, bake, make arts and crafts projects, and listen to country music J.

Why do I want to go to Ethiopia? Not a day goes by where I wonder how I am where I am today. People say that college and medical school is a crucible in that one undergoes extraordinary amounts of change. Before going to college, I'd never imagined the amount of transformation I'd experience. But in retrospect, I see now that my hopes and dreams have been redefined again and again over the past 5 years.

Before coming to Medical School, I was fortunate to go on a number of overseas service and learning type trips through which I learned a lot about healthcare and other cultures. My experiences abroad opened my eyes to the greater world outside the four walls to which I'd confined it. Through my time in China, Uganda, and Rwanda – the problems and successes of the world became real. However even more so – my time abroad unveiled to me deeper aspects of myself and my place in the world; it opened a door to introspection I'd never thought possible. To say that my experiences forever changed the way in which I relate to other people, other cultures, and myself would be a gross understatement. They rocked me to my core.

There exist two attitudes with which we tend to approach life: as utterly insignificant beings or as effectors of change. Through my travels I learned time and time again that to adopt the former point of view diminishes our place and potential impact on the world. Yet many of us tend to embrace this attitude – that what we do is inconsequential. The truth is that each of us is one person and often it seems that what we do is nothing more than a drop in the bucket.

This is how I've come to see it: A snowflake is one of the most beautiful and delicate creations; they rest on your eyelashes and melt as soon as they touch your skin. But when snowflakes stick together, they stop traffic. Each of us is one person. As cliché as it sounds, when we work together, we can achieve the improbable. If we actually put our minds to it, I am certain that we could rid the world of poverty, disease, and the other injustices that plague our planet.

A few months ago I was thinking about what I'd like to do in life and in the field of medicine. And after some reflection, I decided that what I'm passionate about is helping other people experience the greater world around them and to find their place in serving it. I'm passionate about teaching and mentoring, and I'm passionate about the field of medicine. And in that moment I decided that one day I want to be able to lead groups of people to foreign countries – to help them experience, serve, and process life outside our culture and to integrate that back into their own lives. I never imagined that day could come so soon! I decided that I want to lead this year's trip to Ethiopia because I love the idea of leading people overseas in acts of service and helping them to think about the impact that we can have on a culture, and the impact a culture can have on us.

I believe 8 first year medical students can make a sustainable impact on healthcare in Ethiopia. And my hope is that after this trip we will see greater ways that we all can positively affect change and eradicate injustices in healthcare. Perhaps I sound like a romantic or an idealist. But to quote my favorite John Lennon song, "You may say I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one."

Ethiopia Bake Sale 2009!

We held our very first fundraiser yesterday.The Ethiopia Outreach Team held a bake sale featuring Crazy Eddie's Gooey Buns, Nishina's tantalizing Texas Sized Cupcakes, and Matt's no-bake cookies! We had a great time making and selling goodies. A special thanks to everyone who was able to try some of our delicious treats and to everyone who helped out :).

Wade - thanks for your support!

Me (Katie) and Nishina selling delicious baked goods

Annie and Eddie bringing trays full of delicious holiday cheer!

What is UTHSCSA Ethiopia Outreach?

The Ethiopia Outreach team travels to rural parts of Ethiopia for 3-4 weeks each summer to provide free medical service to underprivileged populations. We are developing a relationship with Common River, an NGO in Aleta Wondo, to make sure our efforts contribute to a sustainable cause—preventative medicine and care throughout the year. To do this, we’ve chosen to work alongside the government clinic, which is tasked with supporting this region of 30,000+ people with little medicine, deficient equipment and zero physicians at their disposal. With the help of Common River, our team hopes to improve this clinic's resources and the health of this growing population over the next several years.