- Education: Dartmouth College, B.A., Biology, cum laude.
Derek’s passion for community service led him to seek volunteer opportunities during his time at Dartmouth which ranged from work with the Special Olympics, to elementary school mentoring, to international service trips in Central America. Derek initially fell in love with Tico culture over the course of three months spent exploring the Costa Rican jungle studying tropical biology. During this time he noted the precarious balance between humans and the local ecosystem and was troubled by the level of poverty and lack of access to quality healthcare. He returned to the region during his senior year on a community health brigade to Nicaragua, and later traveled to Honduras in both 2010 and 2011 as the leader of Dartmouth-sponsored trips to establish a regional library in a rural village, staff the local clinic, and complete construction projects. Since his graduation in 2010, Derek has worked at Children’s Hospital Boston, supporting continuing education for medical professionals throughout the hospital. While at Dartmouth, Derek was a two-year starter for the men’s varsity soccer program, making three straight NCAA appearances and winning an Ivy League Championship in 2008. He also played lead alto saxophone in the Barbary Coast Jazz Ensemble for four years, and enjoys ocean kayaking, spending time with family and friends, and trying to teach himself to play the guitar. He is spending the year working for an NGO in Zimbabwe before continuing his studies at Harvard Medical School next year. Derek has led Community Service Costa Rica.
