Brian Rodysill (CTSA ’16, MED ’18)

Board Member, Executive Committee, Mayo Medical School Student Representative

(originally published in 2015)

Medical student, Mayo Clinic School of Medicine

Rochester, Minnesota

• Medical School: Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, Rochester, Minnesota
• Undergraduate: University of Southern California
• Native of: Rochester, Minnesota

Why did you decide to pursue medicine?

I had a spinal cord injury at 21 and was treated at Mayo Clinic. The exposure to various aspects of health care and my experience as a patient emboldened a sense of purpose toward healing the sick and broken.

I give Mayo a lot of the credit for rehabilitating me from my injury. I have been able to hike, run and dance at weddings again. When I was fortunate enough to be accepted to Mayo Clinic School of Medicine, it was a no-brainer where to train to be a physician and conduct research in regenerative neurobiology.

What valuable lesson have you learned at Mayo Clinic?

I have learned through my experiences as a patient and my training about all the little things surrounding patient care that make a huge difference in terms of healing and in the comfort of the patient and their family.

What do you contribute to the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association?

I offer perspective as a medical student looking at the changing landscape of medicine, with different experiences growing up than many other members of the Alumni Association and with an ability to connect with the millennial generation.

What do you do in your spare time?

I love the outdoors — hiking, running, swimming, reading a book on a park bench. I have been to all of the state parks in Minnesota and completed hiking the Superior Hiking Trail from Two Harbors, Minnesota, to the Canadian border.

Recently I’ve taken up playing the banjo.