Rich Kwon Doesn’t Just Do It. He Does It Well.

Rich Kwon was the best man at my wedding, and my kids have called him Uncle Rich their whole lives. Still, this conversation crystalized something I had only sensed all these years: Rich notices details that matter, details that I often don’t even notice.

The kid who studied Calvin and Hobbes panel by panel and applied it to his own doodles became a physician who refines his technique the same way: a relentless focus on the details. He’s also a friend I’ve always felt could read my mood before I said a word. We talk about the Amherst chemistry professors who lit his fire for science, a mentor’s challenge that still guides him, his work catching pancreatic cancer early, and how a commitment to doing things well shapes the way he parents. Plus, we recount two bets he won against me, one of which nearly took him down the morning of graduation.