同性恋色情

He had just flown for the first time. He was about to learn about a culture that was entirely new to him.

鈥淕oing to Cuba was completely eye opening,鈥� Hand said. The senior biology and Spanish major 鈥� then a sophomore 鈥� grew up in a small 同性恋色情 town of fewer than 300 people. Even stopping in Miami on the journey to Cuba for a two-week BreakAway 鈥渇elt like a different world.鈥�

When he got off the plane in Havana, the humidity hit him 鈥渁ll at once.鈥� Then he noticed the many stray animals 鈥� cats and dogs 鈥� and the smell of tobacco in the air. But 鈥渋t wasn鈥檛 a bad smell, he said, adding,鈥漷here鈥檚 a sweetness to it.鈥�

Hand learned about the Cuban healthcare system, worked on bat research, and was immersed in Spanish outside of the classroom for the first time. He talked to the people who live there. By listening, he learned what it is like to live and work in a different economy and system of government.

He chose not to swim, but he did see the ocean for the first time. The whole experience of the trip was overwhelming, he explained.

鈥淲hen you go abroad for the first time, you realize that you鈥檙e a lot braver than you were before, but you don鈥檛 necessarily get rid of all of your fears all at once,鈥� he reflected. 鈥淵ou kind of have to work yourself into it. The first thing that I really experimented with was food. I tried to eat everything I could 鈥� and that鈥檚 not normal for me. I was always a picky eater, but I ate everything I could there. But some things 鈥� like the ocean 鈥� that was still just a little bit terrifying, because it鈥檚 so vast.鈥�

As a Spanish major, Hand had planned to go abroad again. Visiting Cuba opened up a curiosity in him to return to Latin America. So, this fall he went to Ecuador to stay with a host family, study, have experiences and meet as many people as possible. Generous gifts from Miguel and Carmen Arce, the Frayn and Clifton Utley Foreign Studies Award, and the Edith Rammelkamp and F. Osborne Elliott Junior Year Abroad Award helped make Hand鈥檚 life-changing experiences abroad possible.

While in Ecuador, Hand did research looking at the accessibility of rural healthcare. Outside of his class schedule 鈥� and his
long 45-minute walk to campus from his host family鈥檚 home 鈥� Hand interviewed doctors, nurses and patients at a health center outside of Cuenca. The health center serves a large rural area of around 30 small towns and a population that includes many indigenous and impoverished people.

Hand returned to the U.S. in December and is using his research to write his honors thesis. His days are a little bit different now that he鈥檚 back on campus. He鈥檚 not walking so far to get to class. Instead of conducting interviews, he鈥檚 focused on finishing his senior year and getting back into condition for track and field. It has been a little bit of a 鈥渞everse culture shock,鈥� but he feels he鈥檚 more creative at problem solving. Plus, he鈥檚 still communicating with the friends he made abroad.

鈥淎nd I think that is where I have learned the most and that is where I continue to learn the most,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ecause I have
made friends that I can still talk to every day and that I still have been talking to every day.鈥�

Hand鈥檚 experiences abroad were not alone in preparing him to graduate ready to pursue medical school. He received funding to do summer research and worked in the lab with Paul Hamilton 鈥�09, assistant professor of biology, over the course of his first three years at IC. He also worked part time for a year at Passavant Area Hospital, tutored on campus and held leadership roles with the Campus Writing Center, Rotaract Club, Parker After Dark, and Chess Club, which he founded.

But as wide-ranging as Hand鈥檚 college experience has been, his  reason for wanting to be a doctor is similar to what he aimed to
do during his semester in Ecuador: He wants to make genuine connections with people.