Richard Heinzl Essay

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Richard Heinzl is the founder of the first North American chapter of ‘Doctors Without Borders,’ which lead to his winning the Nobel Prize for his humanitarian efforts. He has taken his skills to over 70 countries and was named on the Top 40 under 40 in Report on Business Magazine. During his speech in Phelps Stokes auditorium, he stressed the importance of giving back to the community and encouraged others to fulfill their dreams as well. With his heart-warming stories and encouraging motivation, he captured his audience’s attention. Most would consider Richard Heinzl’s education and career unconventional and unique. Having attended McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario; a school who’s approach to education is different than most. “There were no exams. They didn’t force lectures or textbooks, either. We had tutorials, student groups, and patients [from] day one,” says Dr. Heinzl. To him this was the best motivation. Each student and doctor was asked to define what health was for themselves, something that Dr. Heinzl felt was a key component to his education as a doctor. During his studies in McMaster, Dr. Heinzl decided to take an elective course in Uganda, which during his stay, was at war. He made the decision to leave his elective and cross into the capital of Uganda to help those who needed medical attention. His biggest fret during this time was that his passport would be confiscated and he would not be allowed to enter or leave, yet when he arrived to the border he was not even met by border patrol, in such turmoil was the country. While there he stumbbledupon an organization called ‘Doctors Without Borders.’ Dr. Henizl joined them for a meal and discovered that these were not your average doctors. He described them as being normal civilians that interacted with the locals. “My God, I finally found a career at 21,” joked Dr. Heinzl with the

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