Alexander was born on August 6, 1976, in Milan Italy. A year later, he moved back to his native country of Nigeria where he spent the next eight years. In May of 1985, his family was transferred to Yokohama, Japan, where he attended an American International school. In 1986, he joined his elder siblings and enrolled at the Stoke Brunswick school in East Grinstead, United Kingdom and finished high school at the King’s School Canterbury, UK. Upon graduation from high school on 1995, Alex crossed the pond to attend college at the University of Rochester in New York, where he received a B.S. in Microbiology. Between college and medical school, Alex took time off to do research and work as a volunteer in an HIV crisis and resource center in Hackensack, New Jersey. It was during this time that he realized he wanted to pursue a career in medicine. Upon entering Albany Medical College in NY, he endured numerous personal and trying experiences while leading a seemingly unhealthy myopic lifestyle. By his junior year, he felt compelled to pursue interests outside the world of medicine and began to cultivate an interest in the arts. He became a frequent contributor to the school paper, Student Perspectives, and this became a project dear to his heart.
Alexander’s major influences to date range from the impressionistic genre of Monet, Manet, Pissarro and Renoir, to the more modern contemporary American artists, such as Edward Hopper. Alex plans to graduate from AMC in May and continue his residency in Internal Medicine at the same institution. His art continues to play a central role in his maintaining his sanity in such a chaotic world. When Alexander heard about the Engeye Health Clinic, he realized that he wanted to contribute to this noble effort. His paintings have already raised a significant amount for the non-profit clinic, and Team Engeye is very grateful for his generosity.
Team Engeye recently flew a Ugandan child named Susan, who had visited the Engeye Health Clinic in Uganda as a patient seeking help for her major burns; they knew they wanted to help her. The team knew Susan’s care wouldn’t be easy, and that only the plastic surgeons and pro-bono work offered in the U.S. could heal her scarred body. In mid-2007 Susan was preliminarily accepted to the Boston Shriners Burn Unit. Months of reviewing her applications and medical records passed, and finally Susan was accepted for plastic surgery to repair her leg with ALL medical expenses covered! Susan will fly in on May 12, 2008, staying in Boston for two months. Susan will then return to her home in Uganda to begin her new life unimpeded by her injuries. Choose A Need (www.chooseaneed.org)
ENGEYE HEALTH CLINIC
The Engeye Health Clinic was established in 2006 by three medical students, Stephanie Van Dyke, Misty Richards, and Brooke Richards, in collaboration with two key Ugandans, John Kalule and Laurence Makana Sitati. Despite the rigors of medical school, the team is in daily contact across the globe, bringing sustainable healthcare to Ddegeya Village in southern Uganda for the first time ever. For more information, visit: www.engeye.org.
