Joel Wesley Charles

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“I stand where I am because of the consistent encouragement and support of family and friends. I have been motivated by a love of life which has led me to take action to protect and better it.”

  • Program: 2009 Graduate Scholarship Recipient
  • Resides: Middleton, WI
  • Hometown: Green Bay, Wisconsin
  • Age: 26

Biography

PROFILE: Joel Charles seems to be able to do it all . . . he’s a great cook, loves to canoe and swim, is an avid reader, accomplished writer, plays a mean harmonica, enjoys dancing (maybe not like Astaire or Michael Jackson, but he’s good) and in his spare time, when he’s not studying, he’s either building wooden boats or in the Mississippi Delta working as an AmeriCorps volunteer. But mostly this future physician from the land of John Muir and Aldo Leopold says the thing he treasures the most are “simple moments in the company of friends and family.” A 2008 honors graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Joel decided to delay medical school and work as a coordinator of a Habitat for Humanity affiliate in the South. Joel’s more convinced then ever that he’s on the right track in his eventual goal of becoming a primary care physician. In summing up where he’s been, where’s he’s currently at, and where’s he heading, Joel said: “Like a compass by which I orient my way, the circumstances and people in my life have guided me to where I am and influenced the direction in which I plan to travel.” 

INSPIRATION: Joel’s life is richer, he said, because he grew up in a neighborhood where his boyhood friends were Hmong, Laotian, African and Native American. He was blessed by learning all their cultures and was encouraged to do so by his loving parents. “Throughout my life I have received guidance from all of those around me. But of these people, my parents have influenced me the most. Among so many other things, my father taught me to love other people and take an active interest in them while cultivating my own spiritual growth. My mother showed me how to translate that love into action which benefits the world around me.”

ASPIRATION: The future primary care physician plans to develop “culturally aware, patient-centered medical practices in underprivileged areas” of the US and the developing world. 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE: Fluent in Spanish, Joel volunteered as an interpreter during his undergraduate days at a free clinic in Green Bay and also gave his time and effort to a local Headstart program providing health education to the children of Hmong and Latino immigrants.

ACCOLADES: Joel was a member of Phi Beta Kappa, received the Zillman Fellowship at the University of Wisconsin, and won the People's Choice Award given by the Door County (WI) Maritime Museum for restoring a wooden boat.

INTERESTING FACT: Joel is fascinated with words and their power to convey thoughts and ideas. Thus far, he has only written short stories but looks forward to someday writing something more substantial.

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