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has included many activities and experiences that have drawn me to Family Medicine. These activities, my academic training, and my international experience have prepared me to make a meaningful contribution to the medical profession. My appreciation for hard work and perseverance began at home. My responsibilities there included hauling hay, milking goats, extracting honey from bee hives, and tending a small orchard and garden. While this work occupied much of my time, I also found opportunity to participate in more broadening endeavors. For example, I developed a love for music and sports. I learned to sing and play the piano and french horn, and I participated in various competitions in the United States. I was also a member of the Phoenix Boys Choir. My training in music helped teach me to focus and concentrate. Similarly, my participation in baseball, soccer, football, basketball, and volleyball have provided me opportunities to develop discipline and stamina. I have especially enjoyed basketball and was a starting player on the varsity team in high school. During my senior year, I suffered a back injury during a game. Discovering that my back was "broken," my physician limited my activity for six months and prescribed the use of a back brace. Unfortunately, I missed the playoffs, but because of my physician’s competence and care, today I enjoy playing basketball without discomfort or evidence of injury. My physician’s expertise and genuine concern for my well-being greatly impressed me, and in hindsight was probably the beginning of my interest in becoming a physician. My involvement in the Boy Scouts of America has also been instrumental in my preparation for entering the medical field. I am an Eagle Scout. My scouting experiences as both a youth and adult have provided unique service opportunities as well as leadership training. More important than the skills I learned as a scout have been the values that were reinforced in the scouting program: of honor, doing my best, and being trustworthy in every circumstance. After my first year of college, I served as a volunteer representative of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. For two years I lived in South America performing ecclesiastical duties and giving humanitarian aid. This experience exposed me to the harsh reality of life in an area with little access to medical treatment. I often met people whose disabilities and illnesses might have been avoided or mitigated with proper medical attention. Upon returning to the United States, I resumed my studies at Brigham Young University. I pursued a pre-med track, convinced that my talents and abilities could be best applied in the medical profession in the service of others. I chose Spanish Translation as my major to augment my understanding of the language, fortify my fluency, and magnify a skill to be used in connection with providing medical care to others. Upon graduating from Brigham Young University I applied and immediately was accepted into the International Medical School of the Universidad Autónoma de Guadalajara. I could not have asked for a better environment to learn the healing art and practice of medicine. My experiences and preparation in both medical and missionary service in Latin America have given me perspective and training unparalleled from any other that I could have received. After graduating from Medical School I completed my Internship in New York, through New York Medical College. During that rigorous year of training I witnessed first hand the tragedy and devastating events of “911”. Following my internship I moved back to Arizona to complete a three year family medicine residency program at Scottsdale Healthcare. At the beginning of my first year of residency I met my wife, and after a lengthy courtship of six months we were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple. Today my beautiful wife and I enjoy the company of our four wonderful children. Furthermore, we enjoy the close proximity of both of our extended family. We are so glad that our children are being raised in an environment close to their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. My wife and I are so fortunate that Providence has given us each other and our family. |
