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Editorial: He didn’t get there by chance
Op-Ed · August 17, 2017
On it’s face, it might appear that Russell Martin was simply in the right place at the right time when he was asked to join Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology professor and Vice Chair for Research Dr. Robert Cornell in a picture.
The picture would get enlarged to cover the side of a bus in a year-long promotional campaign.
But one needs to know what the 2017 West Branch High School graduate had to go through to end up standing where he stood, and how few others would have even had the opportunity to stand in that same spot when University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital marketing staff showed up to take that picture.
To get the picture, UI’s photographer had to make an appointment with Cornell. To achieve the long, double title he now holds, Cornell had to spend a lot of time in a laboratory. And as any good photographer knows, catching a good photo depends not only on the subject, but the surroundings, the action, and a few props. The lab was the perfect place to meet.
In that lab stood a teenager who scored 35 out of a possible 36 on his ACT and who graduated with a 3.97 grade point average.
Martin ran cross country and track, was a member of the National Honor Society, performed in show choir and played with the jazz band. He was one of the Des Moines Register’s Top 10 Academic All-State 2016 students and then-Gov. Terry Branstad recognized him at the 14th Annual Governor’s Scholar for Outstanding Academic Achievement.
And not long before graduation, Martin showed up at the West Branch Board of Education meeting to demonstrate a prosthetic hand he designed and carved with the school district’s 3D printer.
At UI, he is studying biomedical engineering.
“I find research especially alluring,” he said.
Martin followed a difficult yet purposeful path that got him inside Cornell’s laboratory.
West Branch High School is proud of Martin, and even placed his picture on the wall inside the main office after Martin was recognized by the Register.
So, a picture on the side of the Cambus is a nice bit of promotion for the WBHS graduate.
But we’re pretty sure he’ll land some bigger achievements.
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