Leif Sorensen BS’24

“When I first came to the U, I did all the things I thought would make me happy. I enrolled in classes, joined a fraternity, and made new friends. But I still felt something was missing. After serving in Mongolia as an English-teaching missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I found a new purpose. I realized that we all have the ability to improve others’ lives. I wanted to do my part while continuing my university education.

Because many Mongolians live nomadic lives, it’s often difficult for them to access health care. Specialists and urgent care are especially hard to find in the countryside. In 2020, I met Dr. Raymond Price [BS’83], co-founder of the Center for Global Surgery at the U (which provides me with a scholarship as well as a seed grant for my breast cancer research). Dr. Price was addressing these challenges in Mongolia, and he inspired me to use my skills to help as many people as possible.

For several years, despite a 14-hour time difference, I served as an interpreter and researcher in Zoom meetings with a multidisciplinary board of Mongolian and American breast cancer specialists. In 2022, I traveled back to Mongolia with Dr. Price to help interpret a course that teaches physicians lifesaving measures. During these trips, I built connections with physicians from the National Cancer Center of Mongolia and the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences. Together we traveled across the country to support physician training to expand health care access.

My undergraduate experience was certainly unconventional—attending university classes online at 1 a.m., taking finals in the South Korea airport, and organizing a breast cancer screening project in the Gobi Desert. My time at the U taught me that you can still pursue an education while making a difference. You don’t have to wait—you already have the skills to make the world a better place.”