Dr. Ken was born in Tokyo, Japan but moved with his family to Maryland when he was one year old, so his farther could pursue a career opportunity. He lived in Maryland until fifth grade when the family moved to Boston, Massachusetts. Dr. Ken finished middle and high school in Boston and inadvertently became a long-distance runner after joining the cross-country team. In an effort to see more of the United States, he attended college in rural Ohio where he majored in molecular biology and continued to run cross-country. While he was in college, he read a book called “Mountains Beyond Mountains” which was about a physician that worked in rural Haiti. This book played a significant impact on Dr. Ken’s choice to become a physician and to serve rural communities. After college, he moved to Portland, Oregon for two years where he worked in a cell biology lab. While at a church picnic in Oregon, he met his wife, Katie, who was originally from Lusk, Wyoming. Katie had previously been in Japan for two years teaching English and actually lived in Japan longer than Dr. Ken. The couple was married in the same park where they met and then moved to Charleston, South Carolina where he began an MD/PhD dual degree program. While in this program, the couple’s two children, Ruby and Jaydee, were born. Ruby is now seven years old and Jaydee is five years old. Dr. Ken and his family share interests in the library, NBA, and being creative. While in the dual program, Dr. Ken found that his two favorite rotations were addiction and pregnancy, and he debated on which specialty he should choose. While having the opportunity to see family medicine first-hand, he realized he could serve both areas as a family medicine provider. Dr. Ken came to Winner for his initial month-long family/rural medicine rotation and felt a calling to come back to serve the Winner community. We are grateful for the choice Dr. Ken has made and encourage all to give him and his family a warm welcome!