Tyler Benjamin, a student at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, is looking forward to matching into a residency program that is as diverse as the winding journey that brought him to medical school.
“I learned long ago that I can’t predict the future, but wherever I’m called to I know there will be opportunities,” says Benjamin, 41, who will graduate in May and embark on his third career path. “Match Day can be a harrowing experience, but I hope all of my peers can find joy wherever the next phase of their life takes them, and I trust that they will.”
On March 21, when the National Resident Matching Program releases results to applicants of residency and fellowship programs, Benjamin will discover where his next chapter lies.
The band-teacher-turned-Army-linguist-turned-medical-student says he’s hopeful for an internal medicine program in a city with a large immigrant and refugee community so that he can deepen his training and provide critical care to underserved patients with diverse backgrounds.
For him, the experience of medical school, all that has come before it, and everything he’s looking forward to in a future practice, is about people.
“Throughout my life, I’ve learned to appreciate that the people around me are the most important thing,” he says. “They keep me anchored. They keep me going. They remind me of my past and where I came from and my future and where I'm going.”
Twists and turns toward medical school
After graduating from Auburn University with an undergraduate degree in music education, Benjamin began teaching band in Montgomery, Alabama. His career brought him to Colorado where he enrolled at the University of Colorado Boulder for a master’s degree in music performance.
Tyler Benjamin performing in the Auburn University band. Photos courtesy of Tyler Benjamin.
In 2011, his career took its first turn. He joined the Army and trained as a Pashto linguist — the language most commonly spoken in Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.
“Civil service was something that was important to me and my family, whether that was federal service, state service, or education,” he says. “Joining the military was something I had wanted to do, so I did. I learned more in that nine years of life than I have doing anything else. I got to see the absolute best of humanity and the absolute worst of humanity.”
In those nine years, Benjamin was stationed around the globe and learned about so many different cultures, which he says is a major reason why he sees himself someday practicing medicine in immigrant and refugee communities.
“My time as a linguist really opened my eyes,” he says. “It’s been amazing to learn from so many people and realize how much I don’t know.”
Humanity above all else
Early in his military career, Benjamin unexpectedly lost his mom to breast cancer. It was the moment he says he knew he’d eventually find his way into medicine.
“My mom’s experience is not what I would want for anyone,” he says. “I want to make sure, to the best of my ability, that what it is potentially the worst day in many people's lives up to that point, is handled with compassion. I want to focus on not only the science of medicine, but the art of medicine. I know that's phrase that gets tossed around a lot, but there is an art to it.
“Humanity is so important, and we have stripped humanity out of so many institutions that I think it is very, very important that we strive as much as we can to hang on to as much of that as possible,” he continues.
Tyler Benjamin poses with his medical school classmates at their White Coat Ceremony.
On deployment, Benjamin was studying and reading for the MCAT, the admissions test for medical school, every chance he had, but it wasn’t until he returned to civilian life that he really dived into preparing for medical school.
“Things got a little hairy during a combat situation and we had to send most of our stuff back and operate on slim belongings for a while,” he says. “Then, when I got back from deployment, we were right in the height of the COVID pandemic. There wasn’t a lot else to do, so I read every book I could possibly find on physics, organic chemistry, biology, anything that would help me prepare. It was all a little bit nerve wracking, and I wasn’t sure this would be my path, but it’s all worked out so far.”
In each different chapter of his career and in life, Benjamin says that theme of humanity has followed him, whether it was seeing the potential in his music students, learning from locals in Afghanistan, or finding genuine connections in his classes during medical school.
“People have the potential to do amazing and miraculous things. Believing in others’ passion is something I enjoy and want to be a part of. I got to do that in music, in the military, and in medical school. I hope to do that in my future practice, too,” he says. “To be able to support your community and have their support is so important. I’ve been fortunate to have that. I’ve had people beside me while I changed careers and now I want to make sure that I can support others. That’s my hope for residency and beyond.”
