Many readers have written to inquire about my lack of regular posting recently. No, I have not been sick. No, I have not been discouraged. And no, I have not given up the fight. But I have been distracted … in a most pleasant way. By the marriage of my son Kevin to Dr. Aylin (pronounced Eileen) Ulku, a professor of medicine at the University of California. You could say that I’ve been grappling with a different kind of flood, a flood of emotions. But these are all positive.

Two Met in Kigali

In 2010, Aylin began work in Kigali, Rwanda, as an Assistant Clinical Professor for the Yale School of Medicine. Her mission: to assist in medical-education capacity-building within the National University of Rwanda (NUR) School of Medicine. Her work included teaching and supervising Rwandese medical students and residents in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics. She also revised undergraduate and graduate curricula and training programs. Her interests focus on global health education and training in non-communicable diseases in limited-resource settings. And did I mention? In addition to her MD, this brilliant humanitarian also has a PhD.

Aylin and my son met at an embassy party in Kigali. Kevin was there on a Peace Corps assignment. As he tells the story, he saw her from across the room and made a beeline toward her. They started dating in Rwanda, got engaged in San Francisco, and over the Labor Day weekend, they got married. It was a story-book wedding. On a mountain top near Santa Cruz, among sequoias, flowers, families and friends.

Residing in San Francisco

The two plan to continue living in San Francisco for now. Dr. Ulku’s research and teaching interests take her back to Africa several times each year. Kevin works as a supply chain management consultant in Silicon Valley.

When they’re not traveling for business, Kevin and Aylin travel for pleasure. The two are avid outdoors people. They have hiked the remote reaches of six continents. I could not be happier for these two wonderful people. May they always walk in beauty.

Now…back to the news. And there’s plenty of it.

Posted by Bob Rehak on 9/10/2019

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