RE Log Fall 2016

20 Ransom Everglades LOG FALL 2016 MAURICE FERRÉ ’79 When you look at him now, moving from one cutting- edge medical technology company to another, accruing various awards and recognitions, appearing in newspaper stories, giving the commencement address at Ransom Everglades, one might conclude that everything MAURICE R. FERRÉ touches turns to gold. Or that the son of six-term Miami Mayor Maurice A. Ferré traveled an easy road to success. Nothing could be further from the truth. Ferré’s ex- traordinary work merging medicine and technology to create innovative, life-changing devices and methods for treatment is a testament to the power of dreams and determination, not privilege or pure genius. In his youth and early 20s, Ferré often stumbled more than he soared, yet he stayed the course on a long journey that began at Ransom Everglades where, he said, he had to work harder than most of his peers just to get average grades. His achievement since has been anything but average: Ferré was honored last spring with the Ransom Ever- glades Founders’ Alumni Award for Distinguished Service to the Community, which is given to an alum who has helped to fulfill the vision of the founders of the Ransom and Everglades schools by showing deep community con- cern and demonstrating honor, courage and leadership. He had previously received the prestigious Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, among others. “I consider myself truly blessed,” he said. “It’s not always about being really smart or talented. I would submit, it’s more about discovering your passion and having the perseverance to see it through.” CEO and Chairman at INSIGHTEC Boston University School of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine Boston University, Master’s in Public Health Bennington College, BA in Biology Memorable teacher, class: Annette Beame Hedke, Algebra 2 As a student, Ferré endured a battle with dyslexia, which caused him to fall behind in elementary school and at Ransom Everglades, where he occasionally brought home report cards dotted with Cs and Ds. He never aspired to politics because he believed himself a poor public speaker. And his dream to attend medical school after receiving a BA from Bennington College seemed as if it, too, would never materialize: he collected two years of rejection letters be- fore finally winning acceptance to the Boston University School of Medicine. Yet once he got in, he knew he would make it through. He found hope and inspiration in the public service of his father and the humanitarian efforts of his great aunt, Sister Isolina Ferré, a nun who dedicated her life to serving the poor and needy and became known as the Mother Teresa of Puerto Rico. Before her death in I feel like everything I had done before prepared me to do this.” science technology