"THE ENDURING POWER OF LEADERSHIP" was the theme for the second of three lectures at the Hippodrome Theatre. Presenters Bob Arnot, MD, Judith Hicks Stiehm, PhD, and Cal Ripken, Jr. spoke of the qualities that can turn ordinary people into extraordinary leaders

David J. Ramsay, DM, DPhil, president of UMB, Dean Reece, Judith Stiehm, PhD, Cal Ripken, Jr., Mrs. Anne Ramsay, and Bob Arnot, MD

Lack of fear seems to be the key to Dr. Arnot’s success. He discussed his new television show, called “Dr. Danger,” an appropriate title for the experiences he shared with the audience about his adventures in war-torn areas around the world. However, the key message in his presentation was not about his own accomplishments, but of the everyday heroes he’s met during his journeys—men and women who may not have chosen to lead, but who stepped up into the role when the situation called for it.

Educator/author Judith Stiehm, whose 10th book is entitled Champions for Peace: Women Winners of the Nobel Prize for Peace, spoke about the 12 women who won the Nobel Peace Prize. These women were happily pursuing careers or religious vocations or enjoying life as wives and mothers when the strife in the world around them forced them out of their comfort zones and into history.

Cal Ripken, Jr., with Frederick J. Hatem, ’51, the obstetrician who delivered Calvin Edwin Ripken, Jr. in 1960

It wasn’t strife but doing what he loved that made Cal Ripken, Jr. such an enduring part of history. That was one of eight points he credits for his success; rules he has followed both in baseball and as a husband and father. The importance of family came through often in Ripken’s presentation, which was filled with stories of his father and the lessons Cal, Sr. imparted and how the Orioles’ Hall of Famer is passing on this knowledge to his own son, Ryan.

More than 600 medical students fanned out across Baltimore to help others in the first student service day at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Medical students cleaned and painted elementary schools, helped build houses for Habitat for Humanity, gave presentations at the Maryland Science Center and conducted a Mini-Med School for high school students interested in the health field.

The Maryland Science Center was the biggest service site of the day, with 75 medical students manning a variety of kid-friendly presentations geared toward hundreds of elementary and middle school students. In “Grossology,” medical students helped third graders understand why swallowing air creates gas. The medical students believe the time they spent with the children made science more accessible and less intimidating to them, and will encourage more young people to consider careers in science or medicine.

Gary Schwartzbauer and Mitch Gutshall, both in the Class of ’07, help build a house for a needy Baltimore family.

Keri Quinn, Class of ’09, helps put up scaffolding at a Habitat for Humanity house in West Baltimore.

Medical students also helped build two Habitat for Humanity houses in West Baltimore. The two rowhouses, right next door to each other, afforded volunteers the opportunity to paint new drywall, put up scaffolding, hang roofs and nail shingles, and lay carpet for two needy families.

Back in the medical school’s gross anatomy lab, medical students gave lectures to high school students on such topics as AIDS and influenza, and then held interactive, hands-on talks with plasticized models of diseased organs, while talking with the students about what it’s like to be a medical student.

Samantha Smith, Class of ’10, reviews anatomy specimens with students from Sollers Point Technical High School.