Pediatric neurosurgery has the ability to save the lives of disabled children with brain or spinal problems. Becoming a pediatric neurosurgeon requires years of education, hard work, and determination. With very little room for failure, neurosurgeons must strive to get the job done. Ben Carson has taken the world of neurosurgery by storm. He worked to overcome his disadvantaged childhood and now deserves the highest regards. Ben Carson once said, “Whatever direction we choose, if we can realize that every obstacle we can jump strengthens us and prepares us for the next one, we were already on the path to success.” Carson experienced all of this in his life and did well for himself and his family. Starting from poverty, Ben Carson worked hard to succeed far beyond the expectations set for a young African American. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayBen Carson was born in Detroit, Michigan, in 1951 to a poor family (Southerland 1). Carson's mother dropped out of school in the third grade and married at the age of thirteen (Source 5). At the young age of 8, Carson's father left Ben, his older brother, and his mother to follow his other family (Southerland 2). Because of this, Ben, his brother, and mother moved in with his sister in Boston (Southerland 2). Carson's mother, Sonya, worked multiple jobs from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. (Southerland 2). They returned to Detroit (Southerland 3). They spent many hours in the hospital waiting room due to their medical aid schedule, which inspired Ben Carson to imagine himself as a doctor (Southerland 3). In fifth grade he was at the bottom of the class. Carson's mother, Sonya, saw her son's poor grades and intervened (Source 5). Thereafter, Carson was allowed only two hours of television per week (Source 5). He was also not allowed to play outside until all homework was completed (Source 5). Additionally, they were required to read two library books per week (Source 5). Carson was resentful at first, but soon discovered his great love of learning (Southerland 4). Within a few weeks, he had his class amazed by identifying rocks that the teacher had brought to class (Source 5). Despite the enormous distance he had travelled, Carson still had violent anger issues and even tried to hit his mother over a minor disagreement about him. fashion; he discovered that this WAS due to putting himself in the center of everything (Southerland 4-5). Ben Carson graduated from the local high school with honors (Source 5). Carson, majoring in psychology, attended Yale University (Source 5). Carson graduated and attended the University of Michigan Medical School, shifting his interest to neurosurgery (Source 5). Carson said, “When I made my choice for neurosurgery it seemed like the most natural thing in the world.” (Carson, 105) Carson's great hand-eye coordination and 3D reasoning skills set him apart from other novice students (Source 5). After medical school, Carson worked at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland (Southerland 6). Carson, specializing in traumatic brain injuries, spinal and brain tumors, craniosynostosis, achondroplasia, neurological and congenital disorders, epilepsy, and trigeminal neuralgia (Southerland 7-8). At the age of thirty-two, Carson was appointed Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery (Southerland 8). This career advancement made him the youngest division director in the history of an elite hospital (Southerland 8). He held this position for the next several years.