Sometimes in life, we know exactly where we鈥檙e headed. Other times, it鈥檚 the people around us who help us chart the course.
For Luke Richardson, it wasn鈥檛 until he shared his experience as a volunteer firefighter with a career counsellor that he considered medicine as a potential career path.
鈥淚 actually didn鈥檛 think medicine was an option for me,鈥� says Luke. 鈥淲e discussed my interest in fire fighting, paramedicine and health and it became obvious very quickly that emergency medicine was the career path for me.鈥�
Now, graduating with a Doctor of Medicine degree, Luke is enthusiastic about starting his residency in emergency medicine. 鈥淥ne of the things I really like about medicine is helping people. I enjoy the positive impact you can have on a person and their community.鈥�
Luke鈥檚 desire to help others is evident. He regularly volunteers at Making Waves, a swimming program for children with disabilities, and Camp Triumph, a summer camp for children with chronic illness in their family. 聽
As the Medical Student Society president, he routinely engaged in student advocacy and community engagement. His leadership lead to an impressive list of awards, including his most valued, the Faculty of Medicine Leadership award.
鈥淚t was voted on by other students so that really meant a lot to me,鈥� says Luke.
In the future, Luke is looking forward to a career in emergency medicine and starting a family of his own.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a long road and a lot of hard work. I鈥檓 lucky to have met some phenomenal people in my four years at Dal and had fantastic guidance from many, including a strong mentor, Dr. Sarah Ramer and my fianc茅, Catherine Cox.
鈥淚t goes by so fast 鈥� you really have to try and enjoy every minute of it.鈥�
This article is part of our series of profiles on the graduates of the Class of 2015. These profiles are also published in the Convocation Keepsake which is distributed at Convocation ceremonies. For more information (including live webcasts),聽.