当Jickssa Gemechu博士.D., 离开埃塞俄比亚, he didn’t imagine it would be 13 years until he returned to see most of his family and visit his alma mater.

But that’s exactly what happened when he recently returned to the country for a month.

The associate professor in OUWB’s Department of Foundational 医疗 Studies spent time catching up with family. He also volunteered two weeks to teach at the same school he once attended as a young student.

Gemechu packed a lot into the month, but there was one moment that clearly stood out.

“I was talking with some students and they told me they wanted to learn from my journey…they said ‘You were like us some years back and now you’re at a different place. We see you as a model and want to learn from your experiences,’他说.

Gemechu said it allowed him to spend time reflecting on his path — the rollercoaster of life — and offer advice based on those ups and downs and how he came to be part of the faculty at OUWB. 

“我很激动，”他说. “我仍然能看到学生们的脸……太棒了。.”

“我知道我必须学医”

Gemechu was born in Ethiopia and raised in Ambo, a town 77 miles away from Addis Ababa. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biology and a master’s degree in anatomy from Addis Ababa University, 在这个非洲国家的政治首都.

In 2004, Gemechu joined the Hawassa University, College of Medicine and Health Sciences. The medical school also was in Ethiopia, about 140 miles from the capital.

Though he had previously done some teaching at different levels, Hawassa University was his first full-time experience as a faculty member teaching in a medical school.

教书是他一直向往的事业. Gemechu said his father spent his life in education and 政府 and included his son in different tasks when he was younger.

“He would ask me to present in front of him or family members,” said Gemechu. “And I always asked him how he was preparing for the different tasks he was accomplishing…teaching, 公众演讲, 政府, 等等.......”

While in high school, Gemechu said he developed a love of medicine, too.

他的父亲也有这种兴趣.

“他患有哮喘，很痛苦，”格梅楚说. “We discussed the causes, what makes it severe, how it can be controlled. When I saw how he was unable to breathe and struggled and how the medicine gave him so much relief, 它触动了我的心.”

“我知道我必须学医并帮助他人，”他补充道.

“对我来说很理想”

Gemechu在哈瓦萨大学工作了五年. 在那期间，当他还是研究生的时候, he presented his research findings at IBRO Neuroscience Conferences organized in several African countries. 在一次演讲中, he met a professor 在神经科学 who liked his work and suggested he apply for the Ph.D. 他参加了意大利维罗纳大学的项目.

Gemechu said he made it through the “rigorous competition” and was accepted. 他获得了全额奖学金. 他获得了博士学位.D. 在神经科学. (而且他还会说意大利语.)

He stayed at the University of Verona as a post-doctoral fellow before he had the opportunity for another post-doc opportunity at Wayne State University in Detroit. 他的妻子已经在美国了.S., so he took it and after about a year-and-a-half, joined OUWB in early 2016.

他说:“OUWB对我来说是理想的选择.

“我有过教书的机会, 从事学术活动和研究, 参与不同层次的服务.”

“我觉得我是和学校一起长大的，”他补充说.

在2024年5月的OUWB荣誉大会上, Gemechu was awarded the Foundational 医疗 Studies Excellence in Teaching Award.

“It is an honor to be recognized for my contribution to teaching at OUWB,他说.

就在两天前，他刚从埃塞俄比亚回来.

“我太高兴了。”

Since leaving Ethiopia, Gemechu has kept connections to the country more than 7,000 miles away. 

One way he’s remained in touch is through colleagues at Addis Ababa University. 葛梅楚与他们共同撰写了几篇文章.

想要回馈学校，那是一切开始的地方, he asked if there were any opportunities for him to volunteer while he was there in April.

“They said they were desperately looking for someone who can help them teach a CNS (central nervous system) module,他说. “They sent me a module description and I told them I could do it in two weeks.”

He was able to teach at the university after being named an adjunct professor.

Gemechu said the experience not only created the potential for collaboration with faculty and students on future projects but left him with “a strong feeling of satisfaction” and gratitude.

“我很高兴能这样做，”他说.

For the other two weeks that he was in Ethiopia, Gemechu spent time with his family. 除此之外, 一家人去了温池, a beautiful volcanic crater lake located about 100 miles west of the country’s capital city. 

Gemechu smiles when talking about the visit because apart from a few visits from his mother over the years, 他没有见到他的兄弟们, 姐妹, 以及其他家庭成员.

“They were so happy…I can’t tell you how happy my mother was about it,他说. “我和家人一起度过的时光太棒了.”

He’s also “so grateful” that OUWB allowed him to go back to Ethiopia for a month.

“我从政府那里得到了很大的支持, 我要感谢他们给我这个机会,他补充道.

For more information, contact Andrew Dietderich, marketing writer, OUWB, at (电子邮件保护).

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