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R4WH National Team Rider
Brecksville, OH
The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Columbus is now home to me but I‘m originally from a quaint suburb of Cleveland called Brecksville. I’ve been a buckeye for the past 8 years and love everything that this great city and its people have to offer.
Two things in life that are very dear to me are my family and friends. My motivation to take part in R4WH stems from them. Being the first generation Korean-American son of two hardworking immigrant parents, I was raised to appreciate the abundant opportunities available in the U.S. My parents also made sure that my sister and I never forgot how lucky we were to have food on our plates, access to healthcare, and a good education; three things that not even everyone in the U.S. has and that I now believe to be basic human rights.
I was made even more aware of the vast disparities in education and healthcare that exist globally by a good college buddy of mine named Fred. Fred spent one year in Korea as a Fulbright scholar before returning to OSU for law school. He met an extraordinary group of people there that turned him on to the concept of a unified global community and showed him that our generation is capable of changing the status quo. He had a completely different outlook on life after he returned and really motivated me to do my part to help out.
Another good friend of mine and 2008 R4WH team member, Anuj Mediratta, got me hooked on cycling by lending me his fixed gear bicycle, which I affectionately named ‘death from below’, during the two months that he was off on the ride. He also encouraged me to take part in the ride myself and implanted the crazy notion in my head that I could actually pedal a bicycle 3,700 miles across this great country of ours. I am honored to be a part of R4WH, which I regard as a truly unique and amazing opportunity to do my part as a citizen of the world and to motivate others to do the same. |
