A tropical disease researcher who can diagnose Chagas disease and remove parasites from cows. And her classmate who has first-hand experience with typhoid fever and malaria – but as a patient.

EMTs and emergency department scribes. A ballerina who bakes wedding cakes, and an R&D engineer who has patents pending on the next generation of razors.

Volunteers who have staffed an HIV food bank in Barbados, free clinics in Ghana, a traveling Peruvian medical mission and the Domestic Policy Council in the White House.

A student who’s the first in his family to graduate college, and a classmate who’s the third generation to come to our medical school.

Thrill seekers and wilderness explorers who’ve skydived from a plane and scuba dived to a shipwreck. A kayaker who paddled solo for 27 days through the Grand Canyon, and a marathoner who ran his race without training first.

A first-generation American who was born in Sweden. A wanderer who spent their childhood living in 25 different towns all over the U.S., and another who calls Virginia’s smallest town home.

A traveler who crossed the Saharan Dessert on camelback. Another who walked 465 miles with pilgrims from around the world to visit a shrine in Spain.

One rescues cats, another names his house plants.

Wakeboarding, horseback riding and the sport of fencing – they’ve competed in all three. A pair of avid sock collectors might turn it into a competition.

One student can say the alphabet backwards – really fast.

Another applied, not only to medical school, but also to the Food Network’s Chopped TV show. Instead of waiting for her casting call – she is here on the MCV Campus now!

Story by Erin Lucero

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