Episode 1: matthew Vaughan

July 24, 2023

Interview by Erica Thomas

Photo by Ivan Dominguez

Edited by Ivan Dominguez, Erica Thomas, and Michael Fortunato

What’s your coffee order?

Normally? Small black coffee. Regular degular. No surprises.

Where are you from?

I was born in the UK, but I only lived there for a year which is why I don't have an accent. Then my family moved to New York City, Seattle, and then Canada for the rest of my life. So if I was to rep a nationality, I would say Canadian.

You grew up in a small town. Do you have a favorite childhood memory?

Breaking my arm!

My brothers and I would play soccer together at the fields in town and we would always bike back together, but we didn't have enough bikes for all three of us siblings. So one of my younger brothers would ride on my handlebars.

And we’d ride around like that, with my brother Liam on my handlebars and my other younger brother JJ was on his own bike. It was always fun to race home like that.

One time I was trying to scare Liam by going super fast and he was so scared. A squirrel came out of nowhere and my brother jabbed his heels into the front tire and the whole bike flipped. He smashed his face up a little bit. I broke my arm, but like… obviously in the moment… horrible… but looking back on it… it is just so funny!

I think it's one of my favorite memories with my siblings.

Your parents come from different backgrounds - one is English and the other Guyanese. What was that like growing up?

How did growing up with a bicultural identity play out day-to-day in your upbringing?

It looked like having an English breakfast in the morning and then chicken curry for dinner. I think Caribbean culture, especially, is great with food and music. And so, you know, I love listening to Soca music or listening to whatever Reggae hits my mom has playing.

In terms of my English culture, that's more where I got super interested in football (soccer), supporting a team, and growing up supporting a team as a family. Arsenal was my team growing up.

Speaking of soccer, what position do you play?

Center defensive midfielder!

What inspired you to pursue medicine?

What’s your vision for your career in medicine?

I want to work internationally. Probably some form of primary care, whether that's in EM like my sister, or I was honestly thinking of cardiology as well because I could do acute MI care.

I do want to have stints where I work abroad. Maybe Doctors Without Borders. It's something I'm very interested in.

I want to work in Guyana,, that's a country that has given me so much in terms of culture, in terms of my overall character,, 50% of my character is developed from being Guyanese and so I do definitely want to go back and work there.

So I’ve heard you had a few interesting jobs before coming to medical school? A line chef and then in construction?

In my gap year I worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant and then I became a line chef at the same place.

I also worked in construction as a laborer with my younger brother and 10 hour shifts of just carrying brick and moving lumber. During that time, I was also tutoring as well.

I only experienced it for a year, but I was able to see exactly what blue collar work was. There were people in that construction site that had been working the same job [laborer] for 40, 50 plus years, right?

The impact of that was experiencing a different way of life and seeing the amount of work that people have to put in simply on the basis that they didn't have the same opportunities that I had. I’m convinced there's no way that I'm somehow way more naturally smart than the people I was alongside. There's no way.

Sometimes I really think it comes down to a lack of opportunities. I think medicine can kind of be idealized, like we who pursue medicine are saviors. I kind of reject that idea. I think we're just normal people, living regular lives. We’ve just had more opportunities than other people have had.

And I think when it comes to my patient population, it's going to be a lot easier for me to relate. My experiences outside of medicine will definitely make me a better physician.

Who has been one of the most influential people in your life?

I don't know if there's one specific most influential person, but definitely my family has had so much impact on me.

My grandmother had eight daughters and no sons in Guyana. She managed to work 12 hour days, cutting sugar cane down on a canefield and got all eight daughters to get a high school education and now all her daughters have actually left Guyana and they're working in the US, Canada, and Europe. I think she's one of the most influential people in my life.

Also there’s my sister. She's so smart. She’s been my mentor in medicine. I'm so lucky to have her. And then my younger brothers. They have this emotional intelligence that I just don't have; they can just read a room and read people's emotions. It's something I strive to improve in myself.

My mom is probably the most generous person I know. She'll give a stranger the shirt off her back. And my dad, too! I guess maybe there’s not a specific person for most influential, but bits and pieces from everyone in my family that has had an influence on me. Definitely.

Contact Matt at mvaughan4@student.nymc.edu

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