much he valued face-to-face time with patients, hearing their stories and getting to know their families over time. Alan began an internship year in internal medicine at the Mary lmogene Bassett Hospital in Cooperstown, NY and then returned to Strong Memorial Hospital. The long hours, clinical responsibilities, and academic demands often seemed impossible, but the special camaraderie of his class and pride as “Strong’s Medicine Residents” kept him going. Alan finished his medical training with a fellowship in infectious disease at the University of Minnesota and returned to Cooperstown to help create the Infectious Disease Division at Bassett. Now, having completed a rewarding clinical career, Alan continues to teach medical students as an attending physician. His interest in literature continued well past his undergraduate years, inspiring him to provide a writing prompt to his students, which later led to the publication of Let Me Listen to Your Heart: Writings by Medical Students. The book is a collection of essays, poems, and reflections by medical students from the University of Rochester and from Columbia University, as they completed clinical rotations at Bassett. Thinking back on his education, Alan shares, “Like many of us, I entered college with no money. Thanks to a very generous University of Rochester scholarship, and later support from the Clark Foundation, I was able to graduate from college and then medical school without a dollar of debt.” In gratitude, Alan now supports the University of Rochester so that future students can have the same educational opportunities that he did. Alan included the University in his estate planning and established two scholarships to support both undergraduate and medical education. Alan hopes to ease the journey for students and believes there is great importance in paying his good fortune forward. If I can help students realize dreams that lead to a career as fulfilling as mine has been, I will have accomplished a lot. And this will remain my legacy.” “
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