Figure 1. Argentina.

Figure 2. China.

Figure 3. India.

Figure 4. Laos.

It is a tremendous honor to be the recipient of this year’s Ramon Guiteras award from the AUA. In investigating the history of this award, the past recipients universally include iconic figures in our specialty, beginning with the first awardee, Dr Hugh J. Jewett, who was honored in 1963 (https://api.auanet.org/Content/awardsarchive/RG). The Guiteras award was the inaugural award established by the AUA, which makes this a very special recognition indeed. It also elevates this to a very special moment for me, when I see so many of my mentors and friends who have been recognized in recent years with the highest honor bestowed by the AUA, individuals such as Drs Ralph Clayman, Arthur Smith, Glenn Preminger, Bob Flanigan, and Ed Messing, amongst others; additionally, Jay Gillenwater, Gene Carleton, and Logan Holtgrewe, who provided me the opportunity to become involved in AUA programs early in my career.

I consider myself to be so lucky to have worked in the environment and with the people I have at my institution since 1990. This includes not only the faculty in my division, but also outstanding residents and fellows, research scientists, and equally importantly, incredible nursing staff in our clinics and operating rooms, people who have been open to new ideas and ways of doing things. Collaborating with excellent people, including engineers, in the medical device industry has also been an exciting experience. I am especially grateful for the international opportunities and experiences I have been fortunate to have over a career of 34 years. We live in a highly mobile world in 2024, but “back in the day” international travel was less common such that I was 33 years old when I first traveled outside of North America. Since then, academic medicine has afforded me the possibility of being involved in over 400 urology events of some sort in over 65 countries (Figures 1-4). The cultures I have experienced, the people I have met, the friends I have made have all had a formative and tremendous impact on the way I view the world. It has been an incredible journey and I would do it all again in a heartbeat.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge my wife, Carolyn, and my 2 daughters, Emily and Ellen. I could not have accomplished a fraction of what I have without their unwavering support throughout my career.