The Student Spotlight is a glimpse into the lives of McMaster medical students through portraits and storytelling. The goal is to highlight the wonderful diversity of our student body.
Mark Weatherall, a 23 year-old Czech/English squash champion from Belleville, ON
Our second Student Spotlight features the face behind our MMSC newsletters and the reason we won Squash at Medgames. Despite a degree in Chemical Engineering at Western University, Mark is far more than your average engineer.
Some of Mark’s favourite things…
Hobby: Squash
Book/piece of literature: A Case of Need – Michael Chrichton
Movie: Zootopia
Song/album/artist: Panic! at the Disco
Character/superhero: Jake the Dog
Shocking Secret
“I am obsessed with cartoons, especially adventure time, and I play too much league of legends for my own good.”
Background
He initially had no interest in medicine, but his opinion changed through undergrad. He wasn’t happy with the field by the time he graduated. Instead, he decided to write his MCAT that summer and started working on medically related research while he applied! “Making up my mind was a challenge.”
The Spark to Medicine
“During fourth year engineering I was at a varsity squash tournament in Toronto. When we left the club, there was a man unconscious in the parking lot. Although this man didn’t survive, it was a rush to be able to apply my first aid skills and to watch the real professionals at work when they took over. This was the spark that fueled my interest in medicine.”
Inspiration
His parents- no explanation needed.
Future Goals
“I want to be the type of Doctor that people feel good about seeing. I’d definitely like to do some research on the side, especially in the area of formulating and implementing evidence based guidelines. I’m also passionate about preventative medicine and the promotion of healthy lifestyles. My fascination with public health and guidelines probably stems from the lack of standardization I’ve seen in primary care while on my horizontals. It would be interesting to see what proportion of physicians are even aware of the current best practices and then which of those actually implement them.”
Mark in Alternate Dimension
I’ve always thought that I was really meant to be a rock-star
“I’d probably be a professional athlete or musician of some kind. Competitive sports and music have always been a big part of my life. I’ve always thought that I was really meant to be a rock-star. I’ve been playing more acoustic guitar these days but I used to play electric guitar in a band back in high school. In an alternate dimension we’re giving One Direction a run for their money.”
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