Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (MD)

Mangaluru, Jun 28: The journey to success may be filled with difficulties and failures, but with hard work, drive and passion, anything is possible.

Dr Calvin Mathias of Mangaluru origin has demonstrated through his recent achievements that there is simply no substitute for hard work when it comes to achieving success. Calvin has been presented with the ‘Ian Smillie Class Award of Distinction 2014-2015’ by the Department of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery, University of Dundee, UK. This prestigious prize is awarded annually to the Master of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery (MCh Orth) degree student who has attained the highest overall mark for the year.

In addition to this, Calvin also bagged the ‘David Rowley Presentation Skills Award 2014-2015’. This prize is awarded annually to the Master of Orthopaedic & Trauma Surgery (MCh Orth) degree student who has best presented their research, orally and visually.

"Calvin should be very proud of his achievements this year. He now belongs to a small select band of orthopaedic surgeons who have won this highly respected award, with many previous recipients going on to achieve highly successful clinical and academic careers. Not only did he win this year’s ‘Ian Smillie Award’ but he also won the ‘David Rowley Presentation Skills Award’ for 2014-2015," said Prof Abboud, MCh (Orth), course director and head of the Department of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery.

"Calvin was an exemplary student throughout the year, focussed, committed and highly diligent. His work on all aspects of the MCh (Orth) course throughout the year has been exemplary and goes to show what hard work, application and dedication can achieve. The implant design that he developed as part of his degree is being submitted for a patent, indicating the high level of support we offer our MCh (Orth) candidates in their endeavour to achieve orthopaedic excellence, " he added.

Dr Calvin's parents Joseph and Leena Mathias, originally from Pilar-Shirva, were settled in Abu Dhabi till 2009 and are currently based in Doha, Qatar and Dubai. Dr Calvin has a younger sister, Caroline Mathias who is also a specialized doctor (MS OBG).

Calvin's academic and extracurricular excellence began from a very young age. He studied in St Joseph's School, Abu Dhabi till 6th grade. In 1996, he left St Joseph's School being awarded the best outgoing student of that batch.

After leaving St Joseph's School, he studied in Abu Dhabi Indian School from 1996 to 2001. He excelled in studies, sports and games throughout his middle school and high school days.

From 2001-2007, he completed his undergraduate MBBS degree from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal and one year of internship, and later, he pursued his speciality training in Orthopaedics from JJM Medical College, Davangere in 2008, attaining the MS Orthopaedics degree in 2011.

After his residency, Calvin worked in St John's Medical College Hospital, Bengaluru for three years from August 2011-2014. After working in the spine and arthroplasty unit at St John's, he developed an inclination towards complex spine and replacement surgeries. He began his MCh Orth course at the University of Dundee, Scotland-UK in September 2014, which he completed in June, and was awarded the degree earlier this month along with the two prestigious awards.

Apart from his education and work experience, Calvin is an avid football fan and still plays football, basketball and table tennis in his spare time. He is a traveller at heart and enjoys visiting new places and meeting different people. He is also an enthusiastic reader, of fiction and non-fiction alike, who was always found with a book in his hand as a child. He developed a passion for martial arts early, achieving his black belt in Karate at the age of 13. More recently, he has also taken up kick boxing for recreational and fitness purposes.

Calvin is an all rounder, who has demonstrated that with hard work, determination and dedication, everything is possible. He says, "Life is a journey and it is important to grab every opportunity that comes your way, take chances, and try different things no matter how arduous and impossible they may seem."