We’re delighted to introduce you to our newest Ben’s Friends intern, Brandon from Texas. Brandon’s story is here, and he will be present on this community, initially to welcome new members.
The Ben’s Friends Internship program is intended to help students who hope to have a future in the medical field gain an understanding of what life is like for patients with rare diseases and conditions, while helping them gain skills in communication and relating to others. We’re pleased that Brandon has joined us, and we wish him all the best in his studies and his future.
TJ, Merl, Christina, Meli and Seenie from Moderator Support
1 Like
Hi everyone,
Thank you for the warm welcome. I am excited to be part of Ben’s Friends and learn more about the community. A little background about me:
My path to medicine has been non-traditional as I went into business following undergrad and help launch three separate technology companies in the areas of cloud and cyber security. I spent roughly 8 years pioneering, and while I enjoyed what I did, I realized along the path that it was not something I could see myself doing for the rest of my life.
I had my first experience with medicine as a student athlete, and after many sports-related injuries, I gravitated toward the field but hadn’t considered it as a career for several reasons. Interestingly enough, the work I was involved with professionally always involved regulated industries such as finance and healthcare, which always kept me close to the field. After many late-night conversations with my wife and mentors, I felt the time was right and decided to pull the trigger and go “all in” on medicine.
I’m currently completing the remaining pre-requisite courses for medical school and will be applying May 2019. Outside of school full-time, I am a TA for both business and science courses at my university, have an ongoing research project (just had my first publication, too!), and spend free time volunteering at hospital downtown as well as a soup kitchen to the hungry and homeless. My wife is in law school and very busy herself, but when we’re not doing school-related things, we enjoy spending time together and with our two dogs.
Thanks!