2 minute read
Black Diamonds
An Arts & Literary Magazine
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Volume 10 | 2023
Provost
When seeking skyline pictures of Havana, I noticed this boy literally hiding in plain sight from his older companion, only to jump out to surprise him shortly after.
Black Diamonds
Zachary Wolfe, MD
MD Class of 2015
For thousands of people living in northeastern Pennsylvania (NEPA) during the 19th and 20th centuries, coal was precious. It was the black diamond they mined and the substance that supported their lives. Formed in ancient times under the massive pressure of the sediment above it, coal became the foundation of an entire economy in NEPA. That economy has all but vanished from this part of the country, but today, NEPA is witnessing the formation of a new and valuable resource. Created under the pressure of a great need for future physicians, Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine now exists. New students are coming in to NEPA every year to begin the process of being transformed into physicians through the steady, constant pressures of medical school. And like the rich veins of coal that extended through the region, these future physicians are now stretched across counties in northeastern and central Pennsylvania. For many of these students and their teachers, the arts are an important part of life outside of medicine. Our hope is that this journal can serve as a showcase for their expression and be an inspiration to those who read it.
