Humans of UCSF: Spirit of Adventure

“I caught the travel bug as a college freshman. There was an opportunity to volunteer over the summer break. I had rarely traveled and thought I couldn't pass on the opportunity. Looking at the different countries, the Dominican Republic caught my attention, particularly because I knew absolutely nothing about the Dominican Republic.

I signed up and spent a month building schools and bathrooms in a rural region. We spent time with the local community practicing our Spanish, dancing, cooking. Traveling has become one of my favorite hobbies. If you know me, I'm always planning the next trip. In a couple of weeks, I will be flying to Saipan to work for a month as an internal medicine resident. Saipan is in the Northern Mariana Islands, a popular tourist site.

However, the local population is medically underserved and the hospital has limited resources. Patient present with severe chronic diseases manifestations at a much younger age and there are nearly no specialists on the island. I feel so lucky to be at UCSF where I have the opportunity to travel and work in places like Saipan.”

Hana Lim

UCSF School of Medicine ’14, UCSF Third Year Internal Medicine Resident