Did you ever meet someone who you just knew was an old soul? Not old like they listen to Ella Fitzgerald and watch “I Love Lucy.” Old like they've been here before, to Earth School, many, many times, and they're back now, to help us humans progress forward.  

You see, my mom had a best friend at Swarthmore College, Karen Dvonch Steinmetz, my godmother. Karen left this world early, in her young thirties from cancer. So, mom set up an annual scholarship fund in her memory. Now, a year after my mother’s death, I am the proud recipient of the winner notifications. “Compassion In Medicine.” That's what the scholarship awards.  

Enter Kevin Bayingana, 26, from Rwanda. Softspoken, polite, radiant smile.

“I don't think I'm anyone special,” says Kevin. “I had a great childhood in Rwanda, filled with love, play and community. We always had food, but sometimes we did not have enough money for school fees.” Kevin laughs about how he and his friends would put sand into an empty plastic bottle and call it a soccer ball.  

Kevin lost his father when he was 3 years old, also to cancer, Leukemia. “It was the most difficult for my mom because my brother and I were too young to really understand, she is the true hero in all of this.”  

“I wanted to do something that honored my father and his memory.” At 15, Kevin would walk to the U.S. Embassy to read medical science books and at 20, he came to the states on an academic scholarship to study Biology and Psychology at Swarthmore College, where he graduated with honors.  
 

Even while navigating his young twenties, studying in an honors program, and acclimating to a wildly different culture, Kevin made the time to volunteer at a nearby Hospice Center where he was a comforting presence during some very difficult end-of-life emotions and situations.  

And... he also volunteered (still does) at the Children’s Hospital (CHOP) as a Bedside Buddy, in the terminally ill unit. He holds the infants, plays video games with the pre-teens and talks about gossip with the older kids. "Kids are so open and willing to connect. Nobody loves like kids. This is a deeply rich experience for me and it's really not that hard." 

Kevin currently resides in West Philly and spends his days in the Pediatric Oncology department at CHOP, where he works toward a cure for childhood cancer. He plans on attending medical school to become a Pediatric Oncologist. 
 

So yeah, I'd have to disagree Kevin, I think you ARE someone special.