Stephen Nelson

UConn School of Medicine, Class of 2013

After living in various small towns, my family settled in Farmington, CT just as I was beginning high school. During high school, I participated in the renovation of the Hartford City Mission building, and became involved in tutoring and other after school activities. This would mark my first exposure to an urban area such as Hartford. I later obtained a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry at Wheaton College in Illinois. There, I worked at inner city youth programs — humbling experiences that entailed losing at basketball to local seventh graders. During the summer of my sophomore year, I traveled to Buenos Aires to work and study in a homeless shelter. All of these experiences increased my awareness of the urban condition, both at home and abroad. I am thrilled about the opportunity to participate in the UST so that I may continue to broaden my perspective on the urban environment