During his time at DU, Will Carspecken has taken experiential learning to a new level. The biochemistry/molecular biology double major has studied sea urchins in California, assisted public health physicians in Bolivia, worked at a clinic in Peru and helped exiled Tibetans in India.

Carspecken, who comes from Estes Park, Colo., also managed to take advantage of DU's dual degree program, which allows students to earn undergraduate and graduate degrees in only five years. He'll graduate with his MBA and two bachelor’s degrees in spring 2008.

"It was life changing," Carspecken says of his volunteer work at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute in Lima, Peru. "I saw people die in front of me, and I worked in some of the poorest areas of the city. People were literally eating trash from dumpsters. I'll never forget the faces of the abandoned handicapped children who lived in the city center."

Carspecken's experiences overseas cemented his plans for the future: He hopes to serve the medical needs of poor populations and has his eye on some of the nation's finest medical schools, including those at Columbia, Harvard and Johns Hopkins. Carspecken intends to specialize in either oncology or immunology research.

Thanks to innovative DU programs such as Partners in Scholarship (PINS), which funds undergraduate research and scholarship, Carspecken is already familiar with the research world. During a recent winter term, he used PINS funding to travel to California's Bodega Bay to study aspects of sea urchin fertilization with a group of DU students and Associate Professor Dennis Barrett of the biology department. "I assisted Dr. Barrett with his research and collaborated with other students on our own work," Carspecken recalls. "It was a chance for me to learn new techniques and produce results in a very short time. Plus, it allowed me to build stronger relationships with Dr. Barrett and the other students."

While he recognizes that DU's emphasis on "real-world learning" helped make him a better student, he also believes that many of his experiences—particularly his time abroad—made him a better person.

"I came back to campus with a new appreciation for my opportunities, and a commitment to working with and for the poor as a physician, even if that means sacrificing a certain way of life," he says.