I Can Design An Engine 64 Miles To A Gallon Of Gasoline

I know what you've all been thinking. Man, we haven't had a post from Rick in a long time. This, of course, is followed by seeking out a box of Kleenex, and then realizing that a chamois is the only thing with the absorbency needed. Well, I've been writing, but something significantly more important. On Monday, I sent in my medical school applications. Part of this, was a personal statement. And therein lies my literary efforts of the past couple weeks.

It's in the hands of the medical schools now. Over the next couple months, I will be compulsively checking my email and various official school sites. Wish me luck.

Oh, I figured you all might want to see it. Here it is. Enjoy, and if you want, let me know what you think of it. More importantly, let me know what you think a person who only knows me from this essay would think of me. Thanks.

I don't remember the exact date, but I'll never forget the moment. I realize that not everyone can identify exactly when they realized what they should do with their lives; the exact minute their life's purpose was undeniably clear. I'm one of the fortunate few; I know exactly when it happened, down to the minute. Over the course of sixty seconds, in a slow flash, with overwhelming certainty, I knew what I could, what I should, and what I wanted to devote my life to.

After nine months as a volunteer in the Pediatric Ward of a local hospital, I began volunteering in the Emergency Room. My shift in the ER was ending for that day and I had spent the last half hour in the trauma room. A patient was wheeled in and the staff began working feverishly. For the next thirty minutes, serving as a scribe, I witnessed and recorded chest compressions, epinephrine pushes, bicarbonate boluses and defibrillation shocks. Then, just after eleven on a Sunday night, everything stopped and the lead physician sighed, "Time." I looked up at the red digits on the clock, recorded the time, and paused for the next instruction. It never came. It didn't have to. Everyone understood.

I had seen dead persons before. But it was that precise moment, that pulse between being alive and then not, that became uncharted territory for me. Being the end of my shift, I drove home with the vivid images and impressions etched on my mind. I had seen a dozen men and women do all they could to help, but in the end, it was out of their hands. I realized that even though their primary objective of saving this life wasn't achieved, they were able to accept it and move forward as though it had been.

This is what separates medical professionals from professionals in other fields; this ability to work toward a goal that may or may not occur despite well-executed procedures. For these professionals, the success was in doing everything they knew how to do, excelling at all the procedural steps within their control. That one minute -those simple sixty seconds- crystallized those impressions in my mind. This understanding, this indelible clarity has directed the course of my actions ever since.

It was, by then, the first semester of my junior year in college. I had already spent my freshman year working toward a degree in finance. Following my freshman year, I volunteered for two years serving as a full-time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. A strong work ethic has always been a hallmark of my family and dedicated service came naturally. The days were long, the work tough, and the results of the work often not within my control, but throughout the experience I acquired skills that continue to influence my life today. During those years, I gained a greater appreciation for those who devote their lives to service. I personally discovered the joy of learning, the reward of service and the satisfaction that comes from positive life changes.

When I completed my mission, I returned to school with a new direction. After serious thought and prayer, I decided which science courses would best prepare me for medical school while I also made progress towards a major in finance. Every semester, pursuing these two paths meant rigorous credit loads, regular scheduling conflicts, and constant decisions concerning the amount of credits hours to allot each semester to biology, chemistry and physics courses while making sure I had the required accounting, economics and management classes to complete my degree. My commitment to excellence and personal work ethic is demonstrated by the fact that I earned a finance degree from one of the top business schools in the nation while simultaneously completing the science courses that would best equip me to meet the demands of medical school, including devoting my final semester exclusively to science courses.

Graduating with a degree in Finance, I was quickly recruited into a financially lucrative position by a subsidiary of Bank of America. I rationalized taking the job knowing that was a great way to pay for medical school but very quickly realized it was not helping me prepare for medical school and left me feeling unfulfilled and empty. Consequently, despite achieving recognized success in that position, I resigned and readjusted my priorities.

I realize that my current financial rewards are not as great as what I left behind, but I have no regrets. The feeling I get when I make a difference in the life of another human being is more reward than what can be measured in dollars and cents. In a nutshell, I have come to realize that I'd rather be a poor physician in a rural clinic in Pahokee Florida than a wealthy financier on Wall Street.

I am confident that my personal and professional experiences thus far demonstrate my commitment and my character, and I eagerly await the opportunity to join them with the necessary training medical school provides.

Word.