Brandon Liette

224 West High Street

Ansonia, OH 45303
November 11th, 2014
Dr. Holben, PhD, RDN, LD, FAND
Professor of Nutrition
Ohio University
1 Ohio University
Athens, OH 45701-2979
Dear Dr. Holben:
Imagine this. You are engulfed in the mountains of Afghanistan. Booming mortar rounds
explode around you, clouding your vision and making breathing nearly impossible. You are
winded from running to multiple injured soldiers. You come to a young soldier with a .50 caliber
round penetrating his leg. With his uniform stained with blood, you react by applying a
tourniquet to the mans upper thigh in hopes of ceasing the red arterial blood spilling from his
femoral artery. He may lose his leg, but you may have saved his life. These life saving skills that
require non-hesitant reactions are instilled in every Army soldier. The first aid proficiency it
takes to administer care under fire is unparalleled to anything in the civilian world, and this
training prepares us as soldiers for high-stressed situations.
As a member of the Army Reserves and Army ROTC program at Ohio University, multiple
training programs, such as first aid certifications, have prepared me to be a leader in many
different situations. As a leader, I have developed critical-thinking, time-management, and
communication skills. The Army defines leadership as influencing people by providing purpose,
direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the
organization. This is not limited to a combat environment. In the operating room, a surgeons
medical team also requires leadership. It is my goal to become a medical professional as well as
maintaining the status of an officer in the United States Army. It is my passion to work in a
hospital, whether it is combat or civilian, and to use my skill set to help better the status of living
for individuals.
Hippocrates stated Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food. When declaring a
major for my college experience, I was informed that Ohio University provided a pre-medical
nutritional degree. I knew I wanted to study pre-med, but studying nutrition engaged me from the
beginning. In todays society, many major diseases i.e. hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity,
coronary heart disease, are affected by food intake. Some diseases can be maintained, reduced, or
even prevented with right nutritional instruction. A medical professional with a nutritional
background possesses critical knowledge on how care should be administered to subjects with
these types of diseases. That is why I chose and continue to study nutrition.
An active medical history first interested me in medicine, primarily orthopedics. After breaking a
metacarpal in my left hand and repeatedly fracturing metacarpals in the right, I quickly became

intrigued by orthopedic medicine during my experience. My goal is to be a general surgeon of

orthopedic medicine, although one may hesitate to have a surgeon with a history of fractured
hands. In college, an ACL reconstruction surgery reinforced my curiosity of what it takes to
perform a surgical procedure. The night before my procedure, I watched hours of footage of
documented surgeries. I wanted to know exactly what equipment would be used, what anesthesia
would be administered, and what incisions and graft extractions would be made. I continuously
interrogated the surgical team with procedural questions up until the anesthetic countdown. My
interest in medical research fosters my desire to be a medical profession. My high school
chemistry teacher instilled in me the importance of being a skeptic, one who searches for the
facts and statistics to support the evidence. I keep that advice in the back of my mind when
researching etiologies. My curiosity for how things work self-motivates me to be inquisitive and
challenge null hypotheses.
The journey one takes to be licensed to practice medicine in an operating room is also just as
challenging. In order to conquer the challenge, one must be self-motivated. My inner drive
comes from my will to be better than my peers. I accept every task as a challenge; I look at every
game as a competition; I view every project as a contest. Self-motivation instills purpose in
everything I do. It gives me a reason to be successful because failure is my biggest fear. In my
eyes, failure is not an option. This persevering mindset causes me to be meticulous and detailed,
both of which are prime necessities for general surgery. The willpower to succeed empowers me
to work harder to be better.
I always emphasized the importance of work ethic to my residents while working as a Resident
Advisor with the housing department at Ohio University. Being an RA gave me the opportunity
to care for forty-six novice freshmen students. I was a mentor, a resource, a confidant, a careprovider, and at times, a disciplinarian. Like a medical doctor, I performed rounds of the
residence halls, checking the well being of my residents and ensuring comfort and care. I
practiced bedside manner by communicating with students in many different situations and
confrontations. A resident advisors duties parallel with a doctors duties in relation to people. I
cared about my residents like they were the soldiers in my platoon, as a doctor should treat the
patients under his care.
I am highly aware of the great reputation of your school, and my conversations with several of
the alumni deepened my interest in attending. I know that, in addition to your excellent faculty,
your medical facilities are among the best in the state of Ohio. Continuing my studies at your
institution would provide me the opportunity to enhance my skill set while further researching
modern medicine. I hope you give me the privilege to continue my education at your school.
Very Respectfully,

Brandon Liette
Nutrition Major
College of Health Sciences and Professions
Ohio University