I am a third-year medical student at the VCU School of Medicine pursuing an MD. I received my Bachelor's degree in chemistry at the Virginia Military Institute. Before coming to VMI, I was a career firefighter with the Henrico County Division of Fire for 3 years. I have been involved in several research projects, including two summers of whole-cell patch-clamp recording at VCU, and a summer undergraduate fellow with the Pauley Heart Center at VCU. At VMI I was in charge of the Firefighting Club and a Team Lead in VMI EMS. I was also a member of the Kerrs Creek Volunteer Fire Department. I graduated from VMI with Institute Honors, having completed an honors thesis studying the history of roles of frigates and small ships in Age of Sail navies, as well as I, worked in a biochemistry lab for a chemistry thesis. I am interested in pursuing a general surgery residency after medical school and going into acute care surgery.