DR. RONNIE MICH EGWANG: The reason I chose to study Veterinary Medicine

Dr. Ronnie Mich Egwang is the only Veterinary doctor I ever wanted to be like; the only one I wanted my life to be patterned after; the only one I ever thought cool; the only one I ever admired so deeply; the only one who defined veterinarian for me in a way that my spirit understood it so well; the only one who embodied in a person what I saw in myself: charming, intelligent, a rebel of sorts and most of all, a person with multiple choices and the power to make them all.

He never lived life as was handed over to him. He created his own. That he was a graduate of veterinary medicine did not mean he had to go and get employed somewhere as a veterinary doctor. He did not have to get tied to some piece of paper. He chose instead to thrive in his whole being as a person, and that he did with a flair. You can Google him. Tusker project fame, Deal or No Deal Africa. Tall, Dark and Handsome was more than just a stereotype with him. He was the truth. In a way, he was my truth.

You see, I grew up listening to Ronnie Mich Egwang on KFM. Back then it was called Monitor FM and he went by “Uncle Mich”. I distinctly remember the sound of his voice filling our modest living room on Plot 30A on Kitaasa Road in Entebbe. Sometimes I heard his voice the morning before I went to school but it was mostly during the holidays that I had a fill of him. He must have been funny because I used to hear my father laugh whenever the radio was on and so I used to laugh along as well, I did not know what I was laughing at but since my father thought it was funny I thought to myself it must be funny too.

Eventually I learnt to laugh independently without my father’s influence until switching on the radio every morning became something that I now did for my own enjoyment. Then one day my father told me that Uncle Mich was a veterinary doctor and I just about lost it. In my little mind, that someone could be a doctor and still be a radio presenter was the coolest thing ever.

Even in my adulthood, the magic of it still does not escape me. Let us just say that something on the inside of me shifted on that day and from that time on wards I knew that if I ever were to become any kind of doctor, then the only doctor I ever wanted to be was a veterinary doctor and not just any veterinary doctor, but like Dr. Ronnie Mich Egwang. I wanted to be a veterinary doctor who could be cool doing other things as well. That was in 2002. I was 9 years old and just in primary four. Since then, I followed him everywhere. I read about him, watched him, and told everyone who cared to listen that Dr. Mich was a real doctor. He did not just carry that title around. He was a veterinary doctor.

Fast forward to 8 years later.

In 2010, as soon as it became clear that I would study sciences at A’level instead of arts like I had initially preferred, I settled it in my heart that I would do Veterinary Medicine. My reasons were very clear. “I want to do Veterinary Medicine so that I can have time to do ‘my other things’” At that time, those other things were writing and its associated acts which while I was not as familiar with as I was with writing at the time, I created room for. Things like poetry, acting, events hosting, television, radio, magazine editing and other form of print media- I made room for them in my mind. I was open to the possibility of going down the path of any one of these things despite the fact that I was studying science at the time.

Nowadays I say it with ease but back then it was torture because for the longest time, I struggled to reconcile the part of me that was doing science and the part of me that was art. By this time, I had long abandoned my childhood fantasy of being a lawyer. I found out early enough that I was too agreeable, too reconciliatory, too nice and most importantly, too intolerant of arguments and too averse to conflict to make not just a good lawyer, but a lawyer at all. I could not imagine living my whole life doing something which appeared to survive solely on the one thing that I hated so much-conflict.

I did not settle for Veterinary Medicine on a whim. It was a years-long, well-thought out decision which I had lived subconsciously for the biggest portion of my life. I wanted to write this story when I had my journal for 2010 with me here as I write this. Instead, it is back in Entebbe yet currently I am in Kotido. I would have loved to take a photograph of that page and share it here; that page where in my Senior Five, I clearly wrote that I wanted to be a veterinary doctor just like Dr. Ronnie Mich Egwang so that I could have time to embrace the artistic side of my being.

I chose veterinary medicine because I knew someone who embodied the kind of person I wanted to be and conveniently for me, that person was a Veterinary Doctor. Knowing that someone existed who had walked this journey before me was more than enough motivation and fight for me to embrace my being in totality. Choosing to be like him was my first step to calming the identity crisis in my spirit. Indeed the day I got my admission to Veterinary School was one of the best days of my life.

So as soon as I entered the clinical years of Veterinary School, I turned the pages back to check out the names of the students’ attendance in the Theriogenology (A fancy term for reproduction and breeding) and Surgery labs to look for Dr. Egwang’s name. Because the names were written as far back as 1996 to present I was sure somewhere in between I would find the name of the man I had admired all my life- and I did. I marveled at his handwriting. I can say with confidence that Dr. Mich has a good handwriting. It was a beautiful cursive. It was artistic. It testified of his presence there. It was complete validation for me. It freed me to be. He wrote his name more than a couple of times both in Theriogenology and in Surgery.

Dr. Ronnie Mich Egwang was like a mirror in which I saw myself. It took a while but I eventually became comfortable seeing myself that way- an artistic scientist. It eased the tension I normally feel; that feeling that I am an impostor; that constant reminder that I flunked my A‘levels and that I suck at mathematics and physics.

In case you’re wondering. I really did well at University. Not first class but definitely top 10 in my class.

From 2002, 9 years old listening to Dr. Mich to 2018, 25 years old and becoming that person that I said I would love to be. It gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling in my stomach. I really did become that Doctor that does other things. It is funny how the thing on which my identity crisis was most greatly hinged is the very thing in which I find most grounding for meaning and purpose in my life.

Yours truly,

Anna Grace