Positive Influencer: Scott Fujimoto ’00

SCOTT FUJIMOTO ’00

POSITIVE INFLUENCER

Isolation often leads to burnout, and many health care professionals will tell you they started their social media presence in an effort to combat burnout in their professional lives— there is comfort in sharing stories and struggles with peers over social media. However, I often tell others to take a social media hiatus as a form of self-care. Disconnecting from our phones and the constant pressure of being “accessible” can be quite therapeutic.

My original goal was to use social media to educate [people] about my often misunderstood specialty of interventional radiology. However, I saw early on that it was a great way to connect with medical students and premed students, and it allowed me to expand my mentorship platform. I had great mentors at Bowdoin, namely swimming coach and legend Charlie Butt. A great mentor does not just teach you the material or coach Xs and Os; they take personal interest in their students’ lives. Charlie did that, and that’s the kind of mentor I strive to be.

During this pandemic, it became clear that I should share vetted and accurate information regarding COVID-19 and the vaccines. Racial inequality is a public health concern as well, however everyone should be vocal against racism—not just those with a certain number of followers or degrees in medicine or sociology. I never thought of myself as an advocate. But I’ve realized with everything going on in the world that I’ve been given this platform, so I might as well use it to make a difference. Whether that comes in the form of combating vaccine misinformation or raising awareness of anti-Asian racism, I want to be a positive influence, especially when it revolves around issues that I am particularly passionate about.

For more of our interview with Scott, visit bowdoin.edu/magazine.

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FROM BOWDOIN AND BEYOND

Scott Fujimoto ’00, a residency program director at Loma Linda University, has more than 13,500 followers on Instagram (@docfuji), where he mixes educational content and a little bit of fun. “I found that my followers really appreciate authenticity and vulnerability,” he said. “It makes you more relatable, and that’s what I want to be.”

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Alumni Life

Zach Burton ’14

The Manic Monologues

IN 2017, while completing a PhD at Stanford University, Zach Burton ’14 suffered a bipolar breakdown. During his recovery, he struggled to find relatable accounts of his illness, other than a “barrage of horror stories,” he said. “There was not a lot of hope out there.” Inspired by the true stories featured in The Vagina Monologues, Burton and his friend Elisa Hofmeister decided they would fill the void in a similar way, and the pair wrote The Manic Monologues, a play about mental illness. Despite the fact that they had no previous theater experience—Burton is a scientist and Hofmeister a medical student—they opened the play at Stanford in 2019 to a packed house and rave reviews. Additional universities and organizations began producing the play, but Burton’s aspirations to share the production more widely with expanded live performances were scuttled by COVID-19. Enter producer Debbie Bisno, from the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey, who decided to make a virtual version of the play. That version, which can be viewed at mccarter.org/manicmonologues, debuted online in February and has been nominated for a Drama League Award for outstanding digital theater. “I felt so fortunate to have a large support network of family and friends and loved ones,” Burton said. “Writing this play felt like a duty—like, who was I to recover and be happy without helping others?”

Community

A CASCADE OF OPPORTUNITIES

Early in the spring semester, President Rose made an appeal to the Bowdoin community, asking alumni and family members for job or internship leads for graduating seniors. Offers poured in almost immediately and, in the end, more than three hundred people responded.

One of the family members who offered positions was Dr. Jerome Kim P’24, director general of the International Vaccine Institute (IVI) in Seoul, South Korea, who leaped at the chance to establish a new summer internship program at the institute. He initially suggested hiring four Bowdoin interns—the institute ended up taking nine. They’ll work in the areas of global affairs and communications, health economics, epidemiology, and public health.

“We’re excited for this pilot program and hope that it will stimulate interest and raise enthusiasm for work in global health,” Kim said.

The United Nations galvanized the formation of the IVI in 1996 to create safe, effective, and affordable vaccines for developing countries. “As an international organization (like the WHO) that does grant-driven research (like a university) and develops actual vaccines (like a biotech) for the protection of people in low- and middle-income countries, IVI offers a broad view of the possibilities in vaccine diplomacy, policy, science, and business,” Kim said.