Saturday, January 6, 2018
Mr Carlson called me in after class one day in 1970 and asked me what I had planned for my career. He encouraged me to reach higher, and on that very day I started thinking, for the first time in my life, that I might have a remote shot at becoming a physician.
I have had a 35 year career as an Emergency Medicine physician, graduate of Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. As a department chairman I think I have had a very positive influence on the lives of thousands of patients, physicians, staff and others with whom I have had contact over the years.
Although I never got the chance to thank Mr Carlson for his encouragement, I will always be grateful to him for setting me on this path, and I hope my life of integrity and compassion has been a testament to his concern and guidance for this student in his 11th grade chemistry class at JHS.
