From Junzi Shi to Kirsten and Amanda…

Congratulations to the winners of the 2013 contest! Kirsten and Amanda made very creative videos and certainly have shown viewers that they have the communication skills and enthusiasm to be great medical ambassadors. Stay humble and keep your mind hungry, and I wish you good luck on your journey!

A few months after my journey, I am still thinking about the people I met and the special connections I made on my trip with Timmy in December 2012. I was able to see the day-to-day operations of medical care in Ecuador as well as an overall sense of how international teamwork fits into the whole picture. My experience in the Tierra Nueva hospital, Quito gave me the opportunity to interact personally with patients and staff, to hear their stories and be witness to their own journey. Most importantly, I identified qualities and challenges while navigating through the medical system with them. These lessons will stay with me as I enter into the clinical years of medical school. I am ever so grateful to Timmy volunteers Paco Vasquez, Zach Wright, and Val Matron for their mentorship and guidance. I have told my story to my friends, family, professors, and peers, yet I feel like it is not complete. Rather, it was the beginning of an exciting adventure, my journey into medicine. I will certainly keep thinking about what I saw and experienced in Ecuador, and perhaps I will get the opportunity to return to finish the story that I started.