Hawaii's Own Officer and a Gentleman Stars in ABC TV's The Bachelor:
It's always great when Hawaii gets a high profile on a major TV series and this spring it's not only Lost that will be featured. ABC's The Bachelor has recently completed filming in Hawaii for the tenth edition of this highly successful reality show. What brought the show to Hawaii? This time it's the bachelor himself, Navy Lt. Andy Baldwin, M.D.
Yes, the man who will be the desire of 25 gorgeous women is a well known Hawaii resident, not just for his good looks but also because he's an accomplished triathlete. Yes, Andy Baldwin, is perhaps the most accomplished contestant ever to be featured on The Bachelor.
Baldwin's current posting is as an undersea medical officer for a special operations dive unit with the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He has also recently been the recipient of several humanitarian awards for his work in Laos last summer where he treated over 600 Laotians in remote mountain villages as part of a humanitarian mission.
Andy Baldwin is truly the epitomy of An Officer and a Gentleman and he'll be looking for his own Debra Winger this spring on The Bachelor. Let's learn more about Hawaii resident Andy Baldwin.
Personal Information:
Name: U.S. Navy Lieutenant Andy Baldwin, M.D.
Age: 29
Hometown: Manheim Township, Lancaster County, PA. His father, Roy Baldwin, is a former PA state legislator who works as a project manager at an engineering company in Camp Hill, PA. His mother, Cindy, is a high school math teacher. Andy has two siblings: Matt, who is married and lives in Florida, and Susanna, who is a student at Cornell University.
Resides: Kane'ohe, Oahu, Hawaii
Occupation: Undersea medical officer for a special operations dive unit with the Navy, stationed at Pearl Harbor, Oahu.
Marital Status: Single, of course!
Height: 6 feet
Weight: 185 pounds
Turn-ons: open minds, athletic bodies, challenging spirits, brunettes, Southern girls. (Lancaster Online)
Turn-offs: smokers, selfishness, career-before-family thinking. (Lancaster Online)
Education:
Baldwin is a graduate of Manheim Township High School in Lancaster, PA where he was valedictorian of his senior class and a competitive swimmer who made All-American. He was named ESPN's National Scholar Athlete of the Year in 1995.
The Navy offered Andy a full ROTC scholarship, which he took and went to Duke University, where he was a varsity letter winner on the men's swim team and began training for marathons, all while taking a pre-med course load and earning a degree in biology, with a concentration in genetics.
After graduating Duke with honors, he enrolled in the University of California-San Francisco School of Medicine and was a surgical intern at Naval Hospital San Diego, where he graduated in 2003.
Accomplishments:
Baldwin's move to the west coast inspired a new passion -- cycling -- and he combined this with his excellence in swimming and running to compete in his first triathlon in 2000, falling in love with the sport. He has since gone on to compete internationally in numerous Ironman, Half-Ironman and other triathlons and marathons, often ranking among the top 5 finishers in his age group. (ABC Bio)
One of his biggest supporters at his races was his Uncle Tom, who died of pancreatic cancer just one month after diagnosis. To honor his uncle, Andy established a fund to raise money for pancreatic cancer research, and has raised over $20,000 to date. (ABC Bio)
In 2005, Baldwin was featured in Cosmopolitan magazine's "Bachelor Blowout" issue. (Lancaster Online)
In 2006 Baldwin was asked to serve as group surgeon for a team of 50 military personnel headed to Laos. His role during the mission was to take care of the medical needs of his team and to treat Laotian villagers in need of medical attention. The experience was unforgettable. (ABC Bio)
Additional Information:
Hobbies: Competing in triathlons, volunteering in the community, playing tennis, writing and surfing (Honolulu Advertiser)
Favorite restaurants in Hawaii: Buzz's Original Steak House in Kailua and Dixie Grill in Pearl City (Honolulu Advertiser)
Last books read: Sudoku for Dummies and The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle (Honolulu Advertiser)
On his play list now: Jack Johnson, Pepper, Tom Petty (Honolulu Advertiser)
Favorite place to hang out in Hawaii: Stairway to Heaven, Ka'ena Point, Duke's Canoe Club in Waikiki (Honolulu Advertiser)
So, will Hawaii's bachelor find the true love and the woman of his dreams? Interviews conducted after the filming seem to indicate that he has, although the couple are unable to see each other again until after the show finishes its run. Be sure to keep up with the latest developments on The Bachelor: Officer and a Gentleman with Latoya West, About's Guide to Reality TV.
