Despite the stress of medical school with its dense lectures (85 power point slides in 30 minutes? No problema), mountains of minute yet unnervingly significant factoids (Por ejemplo, have you heard of the Subtype47OfAUltraRareRespiratoryDisease? Well, if you give them the standard 23-drug combo treatment for the other 46 subtypes, they’ll have an acute drug reaction called Purple Woman Syndrome. So, remember not to do that. Then there’s Subtype48…) and constant exams that can be spotted in every single weekly Sakai calendar view (“what next week, too? Come on!” “Hey, I hear there’s an exam free weekend in April…”), despite these circumstances, there are still a number of med students who remember how to smile from time to time. There are even some people who smile frequently. And there is one person who I don’t really recall ever having not seen smile. The best part is that whenever you catch his eye he has plenty of room to smile more. Yep, you know who I’m talking about: Ben. And I’m telling you, in these dark times, we must look to people like Ben to save us from sinking into dreadful despair and wallowing self-pity.
Meet Ben
Even if you know Ben, I bet you didn’t know that he grew up about a half hour drive from the first Kentucky Fried Chicken Restaurant. Ben has confided in me that what he is most excited about in Honduras is to “eat all the foods” (which, incidentally, is why I am friends with him) and I secretly wonder if food (i.e. KFC) is the reason why when it comes to sports teams Ben is remaining loyal to “the OTHER other blue” of Kentucky even though he’s been at UNC for six months and there are several shades of blue to choose from in North Carolina.
What You Need to Know About Ben
- Ben’s personality type is “The Chief” (ENTJ)
- Her used to be part of a choir (and traveled to Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan with FIFTY other vocally-gifted college males—I know right? Can I go?!).
- Therefore, his chief responsibilities (see what I did there) on this trip will include leading our hikes to charlas* in song and serenading us to sleep. He will also be managing supplies with Holly.
What’s more, Ben has muchas experiencia with speaking Spanish. In fact, the main reason Ben wants to participate in HHA is, I quote, “to ensure that my future patients that speak Spanish are just as comfortable speaking to me as my English patients. I want to do all that I can to help eliminate the language barrier in medicine.”
You’re probably thinking wow this guys is more eloquent than whoever is writing these odd blogs. I couldn’t agree more so I will just insert other nice things Ben has said:
(context: Women’s Health)
“Pregnancy is one of the most significant and precious moments in a person’s life, and it would be unimaginably rewarding to help patients through a time when their body is rapidly changing.”
What have I missed? Oh yes, his other summer plans: CHILLING, visiting family and traveling more, perhaps to Guatemala.
And of course Ben’s summary quote, fitting for MLK week:
“A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus, but a molder of consensus.”
MLK, Jr
*charlas: health talks (see trip timeline)