Previously blind student enrolls at Purdue as Beering Scholar
>>Print ViewPublication Date: 07/30/2010
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Beering Scholar Chris Bosma was born blind and, with the help of the world’s best doctors, will be coming to Purdue in the fall with clear eyesight.
He plans to use his scholarship to attend medical school and give back to the profession that has given him everything.
Bosma, an Indianapolis native and Heritage Christian School graduate, will enter the College of Engineering and use his Beering Scholarship to attend Indiana University School of Medicine. The Beering Scholarship is awarded to high school seniors who have been accepted to Purdue early in their senior year. It covers full education expenses for a bachelor’s degree and provides the opportunity to pursue one master’s degree, or an MBA, one doctoral degree at Purdue or medical school through Indiana University. The scholarship also covers one semester studying abroad.
Bosma was born with congenital cataracts and he attributes his proximity to Riley Hospital for Children as the reason for his clear vision. At the time when his emergency surgery was needed, the nation’s top optomologist was at Riley Hospital for Children.
“They removed the lens of my eyes and straightened them out. With contacts in, I see 20/20,” he said.
For someone like Bosma, who plans on attending medical school, being awarded the Beering Scholarship relieved a heavy financial burden.
“Without the Beering Scholarship, I would have to pay off all that debt,” he said. “I would be limited by that.”
Bosma was invited to apply for the Beering Scholarship a week after he had been awarded the Trustees Scholarship. On the application for the Beering Scholarship, Bosma was required to answer the essay prompt “If you could have a superpower, what would it be?”
“I put that I would like the power to heal,” he said. “I’m looking to go overseas to impoverished areas and address problems with infrastructure. I viewed (getting this scholarship) as a huge blessing. I knew that if I wanted to go to these impoverished areas, it would be with nonprofit organizations and not on a doctor’s salary.”
At Purdue, Bosma plans on getting involved with Engineers Without Borders, as he has been on mission trips to Costa Rica and Haiti. Bosma described a day in Costa Rica where he hiked out to a village that was approximately a one-day walk. People had traveled to the village seeking medical attention, but at the end of the day Bosma and the doctors he was with had to turn away 50 people.
“It was then I started aspiring to go to med school,” he said. “If I was a doctor, then I could have helped.”
With his engineering degree, Bosma hopes to bring together doctors and engineers when he is in medical school. He said he thinks that the problem-solving approach between people from these two backgrounds will be an unstoppable force in creating change.
Aside from his future academic plans, Bosma wants to get involved in intramural sports and swing dancing when he comes to Purdue.