Hi, my name is Daniel Naughton, and welcome to my e-Portfolio. I’m from Maineville, Ohio, which is near Cincinnati. I graduated from Kings High School, which is so close to Cedar Fair’s Kings Island that I could park there and still get to class on time.
At Kings, I was a student-athlete. I devoted time after school to studying and completing assignments, and then went to practice. My school schedule was dense and rigorous, and I made every effort to earn the grades I needed to earn. At the same time I participated in competitive sports all across the board, from football and cross country to wrestling and academic quiz team. I also played rugby and ultimate Frisbee with friends in my free time.
Out of all my sports experiences though, the one I’m most attached to is my six year experience with the Creator’s game. To me, lacrosse is the ultimate culmination of athletic ability. It often draws speed, strength, accuracy, precision, finesse, wit, and intelligence all into a single motion. To be a [very] successful player, you must think, and then move, faster than your opponent can. You must decide what you’re going to do, and then do it in a fraction of a second. It’s an exhilaratingly beautiful game. That being said, you’ll be able to find me out on the turf fields shooting around. I plan on trying out (walking-on) for the varsity team. If that works out, great; if not, I’ll play club ball or with a few friends.
Now, I’m a freshman at the greatest school in the world, THE Ohio State University. I am a neuroscience (pre-) major. I need to pass Psych 3313 and Neuro 3000 (which I certainly will) before I’m actually in the major. As you can tell, I’m part of Health Sciences Scholars, which means I get to meet, work and live with people who have similar goals to my own. This excites me. It feels good to automatically be associated with like-minded students, like a network of support and good connections.
Along with the scholars program, I’m also on a pre-med course of study. In eight years, I will be a certified, licensed physician. After that, I am not sure what I’ll specialize in. Right now I want to be a surgeon, and if my major proves to be as fascinating as I am sure it will be (the brain is the most intriguing part of the human body), I hope one day I’ll combine the two!
I got into the idea of surgery my senior year. From November to February, I got to shadow two bariatric surgeons at West Chester Hospital, which is a branch of UC Health. I got to go in two or three times each month and watch them work in the OR. The administrators at my high school thought it was so cool that they actually let me skip a few days to go to the hospital. I got to see several gastric sleeve procedures, several laparoscopic cholecystectomies, three robotic cholecystectomies, various hernia repairs, and a couple lipoma excisions. It is literally the coolest thing I’ve ever gotten to see or do, and I realize just how lucky I am to have had that opportunity. Most students seem to only get to go in once. The surgeons were great guys with some fun stories, the residents were welcoming and inclusive, and the med students even spared some time to talk to me. And during the surgeries, the doctors would stop on occasion to explain what they were doing, why, and how.
I’m extremely excited to get back into that. I’ve already applied to volunteer at the Wexner Medical Center. In time, I hope I’ll make some good connections with the physicians there and be able to shadow them. Perhaps I’ll forge a few strong relationships I could get LoRs and internships from.
Thank you for reading my About Me section. I’ll be updating this as I do more things that become “about me”, so stay tuned for more!