In April, MIT senior Josh Randolph will race 26.2 miles across Concord, Massachusetts, and neighboring towns, carrying a 50-lb backpack. The race, called the Tough Ruck, honors America's fallen military and first responders. For Randolph, it is one of the most rewarding experiences he's done in his time at MIT, and he's never missed a race.
"I want to do things that are challenging and push me to learn more about myself," says Randolph, a Nebraska native. "As soon as I found out about the Tough Ruck, I knew I was going to be a part of it."
Carrying on tradition and honoring those before him is a priority for Randolph. Both of his grandfathers served in the United States Air Force, and now he's following in their footsteps through leadership in the U.S. Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps (AFROTC) at MIT. His work with MIT Emergency Medical Services (EMS) has inspired him to aim for medical school so he could join the Air Force as a doctor.
"I always wanted to be in public service, serve my community, and serve my country," Randolph says.
Getting attached to medicine
Randolph was particularly close with his grandfather, who worked with electronics in the Air Force and later became an engineer.
"I've always seen him as a big role model of mine. He's very proud of his service," Randolph says. A mechanical engineering major, he shares his grandfather's interest in the scientific and technical side of the military.
But Randolph hasn't let his commitment to the Air Force narrow his experiences at MIT.
He signed up for MIT EMS in his sophomore year as a way to push out of his comfort zone. Although he didn't have a strong interest in medicine at the time, he was excited about being responsible for providing essential services to his community.
"If somebody's in need on campus, they call 911, and we're entrusted with the responsibility to help them out and keep them safe. I didn't even know that was something you could do in college," Randolph says.
Getting late-night calls and handling high-pressure situations took some getting used to, but he loved that he was helping.
"It feels a little uncomfortable at first, but then the more calls you run, the more experience you get and the more comfortable you feel with it, and then the more you want to do," Randolph says.
Since joining in his second year, Randolph has responded to more than 100 911 calls and now holds the rank of provincial crew chief, meaning he provides basic life support patient care and coordinates on-scene operations.
His experiences interacting with patients and racing around Cambridge, Massachusetts, to help his community made him realize he would regret not pursuing medicine. In his final year at MIT, he set his sights on medical school. "Even though it was pretty late, I decided to make that switch and put my all into medicine," Randolph says.
After serving as class officer during his junior year, helping to oversee the EMT certification process, Randolph became the director of professional development in his senior year. In this role, he oversees the training and development of service members as well as the quality of patient care. "It's great to see how new students integrate and gain bigger roles and become more involved with the services," Randolph says. "It's really rewarding to contribute a little bit toward their development within EMS and then also just as people."
Leadership in the ROTC
Randolph knew he would be a part of Air Force ROTC since early in high school. He later earned the Air Force ROTC Type 1 scholarship that gave him a tuition-free spot at MIT. It was through AFROTC that he became further committed to helping and honoring those around him, including through the Tough Ruck.
"Pretty often there are family members of fallen servicemembers who make tags with their loved one's name on it and they hand them out for people to carry on their rucks, which is pretty cool, Randolph said of the race. "Overall, it is a really supportive environment, and I try to give as many people high fives and as much encouragement as I can, but at some point I get too tired and need to focus on running."
His parents come out to watch every year.
In previous semesters, Randolph has served as flight commander and group commander within AFROTC's Detachment 365, which is based at MIT and also hosts cadets from Harvard University, Tufts University, and Wellesley College. Currently, as squadron commander, he leads one of the 20-cadet units that makes up the detachment. He has co-organized three Leadership Laboratories dedicated to training over 70 cadets.
Randolph has earned the AFROTC Field Training Superior Performance Award, the AFROTC Commendation Award, the AFROTC Achievement Award, and the Military Order of the World Wars Bronze Award. He has also received the AFROTC Academic Honors Award five times, the Physical Fitness Award four times, and the Maximum AFROTC Physical Fitness Assessment Award two times.
He keeps his activities and schoolwork straight through to-do lists and calendar items, but he admits the workload can still be tough.
"One thing that has helped me is trying to prioritize and figure out what things need my attention immediately or what things will be very important. If it is something that is important and will affect or benefit a lot of people, I try and devote my energy toward that to make the most of my time and implement meaningful things," Randolph says.
A human-centered direction
For the last two years, Randolph worked in the Pappalardo Laboratory as an apprentice and undergraduate assistant, helping students design, fabricate, and test robots they were building for a class design challenge. He has also conducted linguistics research with Professor Suzanne Flynn and worked in the labs of professor of nuclear science and engineering Michael Short and professor of biological and mechanical engineering Domatilla Del Vecchio.
Randolph has also volunteered his time through English for Speakers of Other Languages, where he worked as a volunteer to help MIT employees improve their English speaking and writing skills.
For now, he is excited to enter a more human-centered field through his studies in medicine. After watching his father survive two bouts of cancer, thanks in part to robotically assisted surgery, he hopes to develop robotic health care applications.
"I want to have a deeper and more tangible connection to people. Compassion and empathy are things that I really want to try and live by," Randolph says. "I think being the most empathetic and compassionate with the people you take care of is always a good thing."
