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Meet Lieutenant Eric Lam

meetltericlamLieutenant Eric Lam served as a naval aviator, flying a wide variety of missions ranging from search and rescue to surveillance and reconnaissance in the SH-60B Seahawk helicopter. He was in charge of two divisions, a maintenance and a detachment division consisting of a total of 50 Sailors. On deployment, Lieutenant Lam took part in UNITAS PAC and UNITAS LANT exercises with a number of South American countries, and supported counter-narcotics operations in theCaribbean in conjunction with JIATF-South. Through deployment, leading young sailors, and dealing with high pressure situations, he further developed his critical-thinking skills and ability to work as a team. From 2011 to 2013, Lieutenant Lam was an active Naval Reservist at NAS Jacksonville for Naval Reserve Tactical Operations Center (TOC) 0374. As the operations officer, he managed the watch officer schedule, led the operations division, and oversaw the general operations of the unit.

Eric was an outstanding student at Jacksonville University. He maintained at 4.0 grade point average, and was a member of the Phi Kappa Phi Honor society and Omicron Alpha Kappa Leadership society. Eric graduated in May 2014 with a Bachelor in Science with a Biochemistry major and an English minor. He received the Fred B. Noble medal, and was the 2014 Chemistry Student of the Year. While taking classes, Eric volunteered 330 hours of community service in the Emergency Room (ER) at Memorial Hospital. His duties included assisting with patient care, restocking hospital supplies, cleaning, and ensuring the patient’s needs were being met. In addition, Eric volunteered 150 hours of community service in a small non-profit clinic called Volunteers in Medicine (VIM). His duties included registering countless patients for the We Care program, which covers medical costs for the working uninsured. Eric assisted Dr. Steven Bowers at The Mayo Clinic with esophagitis, Barrett’s and esophageal cancer research. He presented the research at the 2013 Spring JU Symposium. Eric was a scribe at St. Vincent’s Hospital in the ER. Duties included recording all pertinent information dictated by the ER doctor, administrative paperwork, and recording results from lab work, x-rays, CT scans, and MRIs. He was an active member of Southpoint Community Church, and he co-led a small group during the 2012 Fall semester that consisted mainly of leading discussion and moderating with a focus on discipleship.

When asked what he is doing now, Eric gave us this information: “I am currently a 1st year medical student at Nova Southeastern University College of Medicine in Fort Lauderdale, FL. I was selected for an anatomy fellowship over the summer in which I will dissect cadavers and teach anatomy to other health profession students at Nova such as physician’s assistants and optometry students. My future goals? I am very interested in surgery, especially orthopedic surgery. I understand that as we get more exposure to different specialties during our 3rd and 4th years, that interest may change. After medical school, I plan on joining the Navy Medical Reserves to continue to serve my country.”

Learn more about our military students and alumni on Wave Magazine, or visit the Veterans and Military Resource Center online to learn how JU serves those who’ve served.