After graduating from Duke, Josh Finsilver is currently dedicating himself full-time to competing for the Israeli national wrestling team. His goal is to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Team. At the same time, Josh is in the process of applying to medical school, with plans to start his studies in Fall 2024. Josh reflects on how his ACE experience in Peru in 2019 broadened his worldview through the connections and meaningful conversations he had with community members in Peru.
What are you doing now? How has ACE influenced your career pathway?
As of now, I am training full-time for wrestling as a world team member for Israel. I will continue to train and hopefully qualify for the Olympics in Paris this summer. I also am in the middle of applying for medical school and am waiting to hear back from schools which I intend to start after the Olympics in the fall of 2024. ACE had such a big impact on my development and was such an incredible experience. I really broadened my perspective during my trip and was able to work with some amazing people and learn the value of diversity and develop empathy towards others all around the world. I have written a good deal about my ACE experience on my medical school applications and how the trip was such a unique opportunity for service and for my own growth.
Share one lesson from ACE that still holds today.
One anecdote I remember very vividly was when we were out working in the small villages in the countryside. It was a community work day which meant all the adults took the day off of work and showed up at the school to work on the development and upkeep of the school for the kids. This was during the winter in Peru, so I showed up in multiple layers and a rain jacket but was still cold. An elderly Peruvian woman showed up to work in sandals and seemed unphased by the elements. It was at this moment I was talking to her in my broken Spanish that I said she was so tough to be able to withstand the cold and still wear sandals but she responded by saying she wasn’t tough but rather that was her way of living and what she knew. This was really eye-opening for me and I had to take a step back and shift my frame of reference. These individuals were definitely tough and used to a different way of living, but that wasn’t the reason she was wearing sandals. It was because those sandals were her only option and to her she couldn’t be worried about the tiny inconveniences that arise when faced with bigger tasks. It was during that conversation that I realized in order to better understand other individuals I needed to open my mind from the preconceived ideas I grew up with. This is something that I still try to do today when interacting with other individuals.
Describe your ACE experience in as few words as possible:
Eye-opening and a great opportunity for self-growth.
What’s one thing you want people to know about ACE?
ACE is such a unique opportunity to travel the world and be of service to people who are much different than you. This provides the framework to push your boundaries and become a compassionate person who can connect with individuals from all walks of life.