Class Scholars: 1955

Ryan Martin, Class of 2010

Bio
Thank You Letter

Ryan Martin is the youngest of three children raised in Benicia , a small town outside of San Francisco , California . He led a quiet childhood filled with school and athletic activities that ended on Ryan's sixteenth birthday, when his mother had a heart attack. The week that she spent in the hospital changed his life, opening his eyes to the world of medicine. Tragically, on the day following his mother's return home, Ryan's father suffered a heart attack and did not survive.

Following his graduation from Benicia High School , Ryan enrolled as a Neurobiology major at the University of California at Davis . He served as an Emergency Room Volunteer at the UC Davis Medical Center, a Phlebotomy Laboratory Volunteer, and a mentor to a weekly teenaged-boys group at his church. Ryan also discovered the joys of scientific research, participating in an ongoing fetal alcohol syndrome study with Dr. Robert Berman and later serving as his research assistant in the Neurological Surgery laboratory. Ryan also excelled academically; he was elected to the Phi Sigma and Phi Kappa Phi honor societies, was awarded the Neurobiology Department Citation for Academic Excellence his senior year, and was the recipient of the Herbert Young Award as the highest ranking graduating senior in the College of Letters and Science. He graduated with honors with a 3.98 GPA and earned his Bachelor of Science degree.

After Ryan graduated, he married his high school sweetheart and applied to medical school. The following is an excerpt from one of his letters of recommendation:

"Ryan is the best and brightest undergraduate student that I have had the pleasure of working with in my 30-year career in research and education. Based on my interactions with him, I have developed the very highest opinion of his intellect, abilities, drive, and maturity. I am confident he has the personal and intellectual qualities that will enable him to become a perceptive, caring, and dedicated physician."

In fall 2006, Ryan entered the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Following his first year, he is clearly on the right track. Below is a faculty evaluation from his Doctoring One course:

"Ryan Martin was a pleasure to work with this year. Ryan is serious, thorough, committed, and reliable. He is punctual and professional and is a natural leader. It would be a pleasure to work with him again."

Not only does Ryan excel in an academic setting and in his pursuit of a career in medicine, but this year he and his wife proudly welcomed their first child into the family. Ryan Martin is most worthy to be the Class of 1955 Scholar for the 2007-08 academic year.