Student: Adam Butler
The doctors and nurses who took care of Adam Butler when he was a little boy left a lasting impression.
Butler, a senior majoring in public health at East Carolina University, wants to become a pediatrician to make a difference in children’s lives — just like others did for him.
Butler was only 2 months old when he had his first surgery to correct craniosynostosis — a condition in which the bones in his skull joined too early in development. He had a follow-up surgery at 3. Later, at age 6, doctors removed a mass from his right lung.
“I do not remember the experiences from my two head surgeries, but I vividly remember all that was happening when I had my lung surgery,” Butler said. “I remember how scared I was about what would happen, but I was drawn to how all the doctors and nurses I encountered comforted me and eased my worries.
Adam Butler has been on three international medical aid trips, providing health clinics, wellness checks and assisting with surgeries in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras. (Contributed photo)
“I have had ambitions ever since to one day return to the field so I could have an impact in lives just like my caregivers did in those early stages of my life,” he said.
Butler grew up in Roseboro, a small town in Sampson County in southeastern North Carolina. Since the pandemic, he’s been working with his mom and dad on their farm, taking care of chickens, pigs and a miniature orchard. It’s been a change from his schedule in Greenville and the health clinic where he usually worked during school breaks.
“I feel like this lifestyle has instilled a sense of hard work in me growing up that I otherwise would have never developed,” he said. “I am also appreciating all this time extra time I have had with my family.”
It was a sense of family that led him to ECU.
“I felt like I was going to be joining a community that cared for the well-being and success of each other,” said Butler, an Honors College student and Brody School of Medicine early assurance scholar. “I could easily see that ECU was committed to service in eastern North Carolina, and I was excited to join that mission and hopefully contribute in ways that I had not originally thought possible.”
Since coming to ECU, Butler has been on three weeklong international medical aid trips, providing health clinics, wellness checks and assisting with surgeries in the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Honduras. On his last trip in December, to Taulabe, Honduras, he and other members of the ECU student organization Pirates Promoting Community Wellness also worked at an orphanage for girls.
“Each of these trips humbled me greatly, and I left each trip with a greater appreciation for serving others as well as a better understanding of the importance of providing health care to people who have less access to care,” Butler said. “Each trip broadened my perspective on health care and life, and I now aspire to continually serve locally and internationally along my journey in health care. I recognized through these trips the importance of love and care in all that we do for others.”
On campus, Butler has been a tutor at the Pirate Academic Success Center, one of the most rewarding experiences in his time at ECU, he said, because of the friends he has made and the students he’s seen turn hard work and determination into success in their coursework.
In Pitt County, Butler has been involved with the READ ENC Community Literacy Coalition, a group dedicated to establishing book nooks for children in pediatric offices, laundromats, barbershops and other public places to “turn waiting time into reading time.”
“This project will always serve as a reminder for me that I can promote change in my community in meaningful and impactful ways,” said Butler, who worked alongside Dr. Terry Atkinson in the College of Education in promoting the community literacy plan.
After graduation, Butler plans to attend the Brody School of Medicine and would like to work as a pediatrician in a rural area of the state.
“I am really intrigued by primary care, and I have a real liking for working in rural areas because that is what I have grown up accustomed to,” Butler said. “I have seen the health disparities experienced by rural residents, and I want to one day practice medicine in ways to alleviate these discrepancies in care. I also hope to volunteer on more international medical aid trips and work to implement more of these international clinics that I have participated in previously.”
What advice do you have for other students? I encourage making the most out of your years at ECU. There is so much opportunity on our campus and in our community. I feel that a full college experience is dependent on being involved and doing what you can to make a difference here in the lives of others.
STATISTICS
Name: Adam Butler
College: College of Health and Human Performance
Major: Public Health
Age: 21
Classification/Year: Senior
Hometown: Roseboro
Hobbies/interests: Biking, surfing, fishing, kayaking, and making ice cream
Clubs and Organizations: Pirates Promoting Community Wellness, Honors College, Phi Eta Sigma, Sigma Alpha Lambda
FAVORITES
Favorite hangout: Anytime that I am with my friends and family
Favorite place on campus: Pirate Academic Success Center
Favorite place to eat: Mike’s Deli
Favorite class: Ocean Explorations and Piracy
Professor who influenced you the most: Gerald Weckesser
Favorite TV show: “NCIS”
Favorite band/musician: The Beach Boys
Favorite movie: “The Pursuit of Happyness”
Favorite website: National Geographic
MOTIVATIONS
Dream job: Pediatrician
Role model: My mom and dad
Your words to live by: “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” — Mahatma Gandhi
What is something cool about ECU that you wish you knew during your first year? I wish I knew how nice and welcoming all the professors are. As a freshman, I was nervous about approaching professors with questions. I quickly learned that they are helpful and want to get to know who you are as a person. The professors truly care about investing in your future.