I am a native Northwesterner but have lived and worked in a variety of settings. I spent much of my school years in Illinois and attended Wheaton College near Chicago for my undergraduate degree. I returned to the Northwest for residency at Madigan Army Medical Center, then enjoyed the rest of my military service stationed in Fairbanks, Alaska. I had always hoped to spend time working in the developing world, and over the next 8 years I worked in both Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. Each of these practice settings provided its own unique challenges and rewards, and each reminded me that medical training is a life-long endeavor.