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» Home » Student Profiles » Eric Hempel

Back to School

This fall, learners from across a wide range of programs in the Faculty of Medicine will start a new academic year.

Meet our Students

Eric Hempel

By sarah stenabaugh | August 20, 2018

Hometown: Bonn, Germany
Program: Bachelor of Medical Laboratory Science
Year in Program: 1

What inspired you to pursue your program?

When the Ebola epidemic broke out in West Africa in 2014, the media showed many pictures and video clips of families desperate for medical support. I was very affected by this, so when I heard the Public Health Agency of Canada had found a suitable vaccine against the Ebola virus, this piqued my interest in laboratory work.

The field of medical sciences is constantly changing. Doctors require new drugs and antibiotics to treat diseases and infections. Sudden bacterial outbreaks threaten thousands of people in developing countries and also impact wildlife and the environment. I would like to further educate myself in laboratory sciences and hope to someday contribute to the field of medical research with the new skill set that I will acquire at UBC.

What are you looking forward to most this upcoming year?

UBC is a world-renowned university with many excellent professors and researchers. I am looking forward to meeting new people in my program and in the faculty. I am excited to visit all of the new buildings and explore UBC’s campus. During my studies, I hope to learn more about prevalent diseases while developing many new laboratory skills.

Best piece of advice

Patience is the name of the game. If you have an idea or goal, then do not rush into it. Instead, plan ahead, and construct your path step by step. Remember life is a marathon, not a sprint!

First job

When I was 14 years old, I was the newspaper delivery boy for my hometown in Germany. I had to deliver newspapers on the weekends and make sure every address in my district received a copy on time. This was the first time I was working for real money. I remember the rainy days when I had to deliver newspapers on my bike. I was wet, my bike was wet, but at least the newspapers arrived on time! In the winter, my mother used to help me. She drove me around and together we would run down every street. Some people would say that is cheating – I call it teamwork!

What’s next on your BC bucket list?

I would like to drive down the Sunshine Coast with friends in a Volkswagen Beetle!

Faculty of Medicine
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