Sunday, January 17, 2010
Wall to Wall Madness
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Myra
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!
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.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
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.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Annie!
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
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
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.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Nishina
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.