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Hi! My name is Ryan Elaoud and I am a second-year Eminence Fellow and Stamps Scholar majoring in Biomedical Science and minoring in Economics. A bit more about me personally, for the five years previous to my coming to OSU last year, I was living in the United Kingdom just outside of London, before which I lived in 4 different states across the east coast of the US. The experiences that I gained moving across the country and living internationally have left a strong impact on me and greatly make up a portion of who I am today. My heritage on both sides of my family stems deeply from Tunisia in North Africa, and as such, Arabic culture was not only heavily present during my upbringing, but also within my family today. During my free time, I enjoy competing in tennis, volleyball, and other sports, hanging out with my friends, or reading novels and scientific books.

 

Something I am commonly asked as someone who has moved so frequently, previously lived in another country, and seemingly has no ties to Ohio is “Why Ohio State?” To me, there are three main reasons why I originally wanted to and have since loved coming to this university:

The first is the immense amount of resources and opportunities available to all students, especially for a student who is interested in oncology and the medical field. As one of the largest research institutions in the country, Ohio State has a seemingly endless amount of opportunities, such as the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the James and the Wexner Medical Center. To speak a bit more on this, since coming to Ohio State, I have utilized these resources to secure a position as an Undergraduate Research Assistant within the Debasish Sundi research lab focusing on the immunological interactions within the bladder cancer tumor microenvironment, as a James Cancer Hospital Volunteer where I aid the healthcare professionals by improving the inpatients’ daily quality of life, and also as a Medical Scribe, a position I have not yet technically begun as I am still in training but am very excited to do so soon!

My second reason for coming to OSU is because I am actually already somewhat familiar with the university due to my Mom also having graduated with a Master’s degree from Ohio State. This means that OSU not only feels more like a home than a foreign place, but that also I was able to come to the university with connections to my mom’s old friends who may be able to, and have already, helped me during my time away from home—although this was mainly helpful during my freshman year and my initial acclimatization to the new environment that is Columbus, it has, and remains to be, especially helpful as an international student during my time here at Ohio State.

Lastly, while it may seem unimportant to others, the strong community and extreme pride in being a Buckeye that all students at Ohio State share is something that I definitely looked forward to coming to OSU, and in my year and a half here as a student, have found it huge amounts! Whether it’s cheering on the Buckeyes at the Shoe (❌ichigan still hurts!), or cheering on the sponsor families at BuckeyeThon’s Dance Marathon, I have never felt more part of a community of shared pride in my life. Especially coming from the UK and having my high school experience there, I was never able to feel that larger sense of family within my schooling, and as such, it was something I definitely wanted within my university life—and something I got here at OSU!

 

Focusing more back onto my academic goals and passions, ultimately I want to go on to medical school and become a doctor within some surgical field of medicine.

Throughout high school and my extra-curricular activities, I have found that I am very interested in medicine, and more specifically oncology and cardiology. In my senior year of high school, taking AP Economics, I also found that unbeknownst to me, I love the study of Economics, both macro and micro. This single class would allow me to explore the realm of economics with a thorough introduction, and would lead to me deciding to minor in it too!

Returning to medicine, however, since coming to OSU, my passion for medicine and the basic sciences has only increased. Especially through the various in-person shadowing experiences that I have had this semester as part of my MEDCOLL 2022 course and my self-reflective experiences within my HONORS 1892 course as a part of the Eminence Fellows Program, I have been able to learn more about myself as a student, future physician, and person as a whole. These different experiences have all been crucial to my development this semester, and I truly am thankful to have been able to do both of them. Now, after observing many surgeries within the specialty of plastic surgery, I know that I would love to go into some kind of surgical field as I love the hands-on and immediate aid aspect of the job. The one thing that concerns me about this path, however, is the length of training and time commitment that it requires. I know that I would very much like to have a family and be present for them, so one of my current top concerns in my analysis of medical professions is whether that is feasible even in a surgical field, and if so, how?

 

Overall, I have really enjoyed my time here at Ohio State thus far, and I am really excited for the next two years here and what they have to offer!

Go Bucks!

Ryan