COURTESY OF DA KINE PUBLIC RELATIONS
U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, seen here at the Special Olympics Holiday Classic at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base, will be featured on ABC's popular show "The Bachelor," which will be filmed in Hawaii next year. CLICK FOR LARGE
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Pearl doc looks for love on TV
The doctor and athlete will soon also be "The Bachelor" reality-TV star
A NAVY OFFICER stationed at Pearl Harbor could become a national heartthrob come the spring.
Thirty-year-old U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, M.D., will be featured on ABC's popular prime-time romance reality series "The Bachelor," scheduled for filming here next year. The premise of the show -- going into its 10th season -- is that an eligible man goes on separate dates with a predetermined group of single women week after week until, as the number is winnowed down, Baldwin will present a final red rose to that one special female finalist. The couple will then, hopefully, be together happily ever after, for a life of bliss away from the TV cameras.
Baldwin, an undersea medical officer for a special-operations dive unit stationed in Pearl Harbor, is being touted on the network's Web site as "truly an officer and gentleman, not to mention a doctor and a world-class triathlete."
Originally from Lancaster, Pa., Baldwin was a valedictorian in high school. An All-American swimmer, he was named ESPN's National Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1995.
COURTESY OF TIM MANTOANI
U.S. Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, 30, is a doctor, triathlete and volunteer and will be "The Bachelor" next season. CLICK FOR LARGE
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The Navy offered him a full ROTC scholarship for college. Baldwin then went on to Duke University, where he graduated with honors with a degree in biology and a
concentration in genetics. He would go on to further studies at the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine, and was a surgical intern at the Naval Hospital in San Diego.
Besides his swimming, Baldwin would go on to take up cycling and running as well, competing in his first triathlon in 2000, and continues to compete internationally to this day.
In addition to his personal accomplishments, Baldwin does his fair share of charitable work. He established a fund to raise money for pancreatic cancer research in honor of the memory of an uncle who supported Baldwin at his races. (He has reportedly raised more than $20,000 to date.) Earlier this year, Baldwin served as group surgeon for a large team of military personnel on a mission in Laos.
At the beginning of this month, Baldwin presented awards at this year's Special Olympics Holiday Classic at Kaneohe Marine Corps Base. "I have volunteered with the Special Olympics Hawaii in the past as a physician covering the events, as a coach, and as a mentor," he said via e-mail. "It was truly special to see the smiles on the athletes' faces and the sense of accomplishment as I presented them with their awards. I have a strong involvement in promoting health and physical fitness within the military community."
And as for his upcoming search for true love on "The Bachelor," Baldwin said that "this is going to be an exciting journey, and hopefully a fruitful one in the end."