"Whenever you speak to a large group of individuals you are likely to offend somebody. It is not my intention to offend anyone tonight and if someone is offended too bad," Dr. Benjamin Carson, world renowned neurosurgeon stated at the start of his lecture.
Carson began his lecture held Tuesday Oct.23 at 8:00 p.m. by talking about how he grew up in dire poverty and about his mother being one of 24 children. She was married away at the age of 13 and later divorced and sued her husband when she found out he was a bigamist. During Carson's childhood, his mother worked two to three jobs just to stay off welfare. "Poverty puts fire in your belly and makes you want to get out of the situation you are in" Carson said.
"I wanted to be a missionary doctor while growing up because that's what some people at my church did and it appeared to be a very good job to have because it gave you a chance to help people. Then I realized they do not make a whole lot of money." He then added "So then, I thought why not become a psychologist. I always see them on TV or actors playing psychologists. So during high school, I became the person to go to for advice. After majoring in psychology in college, I decided I did not want to do that anymore."
Carson later evaluated himself and realized that he had always been a very cautious person; never clumsy. He had very good eye and hand coordination and loved to dissect things. He decided then that he wanted to be a neurosurgeon. In that field one of his present specialties is "trigeminal neuralgia" which causes sharp pain in the eyes, nose, lips , forehead and scalp.
Although a counselor at the University of Michigan told him that he could never be a doctor, Carson pulled from within himself the ambition and courage he had and studied the medical field anyway. He then discussed the importance of education and expectations for young children.
He is the president and co-founder of the Carson Scholars Fund. He and his wife, Candy Carson, have given out over 515 scholarships for the 2007 academic school year. "In Pennsylvania, the Pittsburg Steelers is one of the biggest supporters of the program" said Dr. Carson.
Dr. Carson is also a professor of neurosurgery, oncology, plastic surgery and pediatrics at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. He is dedicated to medicine and education. " There is a problem with our educational system when China produces 392,000 engineers a year while America only produces 60,000" stated Dr. Carson. Having a diverse education and wanting to learn more can open doors for people that thought it was impossible."
He defines success as "using your God-given gifts to elevate other people". He encouraged people to THINK BIG. This acronym means Talent, Honesty, Insight; putting others before yourself, being Nice to other people, Knowledge, Books, In depth knowledge, GOD; having God in your life.
Carson is part of the Baltimore Speaker Series held at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall. Also part of the monthly series is Cokie Roberts who will speak Nov.27, 2007, Madeline Albright who coming Jan. 29, 2008 and Frank McCourt who is lecturing on March 25, 2008.