Alumni Voice: Leadership
"At
17 I was running around the streets. I was going to end up dead, in jail,
or completely marginalized.” United States Surgeon General Richard
Carmona, in a colorful address at UCSF’s Alumni House on May 21,
2004, recounted a dramatic youth in New York City’s East Harlem
before he got on track to become the nation’s top doctor. “My
parents had trouble with substance abuse and I was homeless at six years
old. But somebody took an interest and helped me along. I joined the Army
and the military gave me a mission, focus, and sense of duty. I also got
a skill set.”
After the
military, I went back to school. I was tenacious. I was ecstatic when
I got to UCSF. Everybody here, every one of you gave me a chance. This
is truly an extraordinary place.”
Vice Admiral
Richard H. Carmona was sworn in as the 17th Surgeon General of the United
States Public Health Service on August 5, 2002.
US Surgeon General Richard Carmona
Class of 1979
|
