Congratulations to Haley! Premed of the Week! – May 1st 2017

1. Tell us a little bit about yourself.  I am a college freshman majoring in Chemistry with a Pre-Med focus. I want to follow in the footsteps of my great grand mother, grand mother and mother and pursue a career in medicine. Like my mother, I would like to eventually become an Emergency Medicine physician. I am the national ambassador for Artemis Medical Society’s National Pre-Med Club initiative. I believe that for our generation one of the major civil rights issue of our time is in healthcare and that is the fight to end disparities in care.

In addition to medicine, I am interested in music and spoken word. I play the harp and enjoy writing and performing my original pieces. I also enjoy fencing.

2. Who was your favorite teacher in school and how did he or she impact you?  I was homeschooled throughout my high school years. My mother helped teach me my STEM courses and oversaw my entire education program. Because of this she is my favorite educator. Having my mother serve as my teacher and school administrator was an amazing opportunity to see how much she truly cared for me. To see how much time and energy she put into my education made it easy to realize how important my education should be to me. She inspires me.

3. When did you first decide you wanted to become a doctor and why?  I come from a very long history of strong women who have worked in the healthcare field. My great grand mother left Texas for California to escape the racism of Jim Crow and pursue a career as an LVN. She worked hard to ensure my grandmother would have the opportunity to pursue greater dreams. My grandmother would go on to earn her bachelors degree in nursing and receive her MPH from UCLA. My grandmother used that education to provide a foundation for my mother to take the next step and become a physician.

My mother would go on to attend Xavier University of Louisiana and graduate with honors with a degree in Chemistry. She attended USC Keck School of Medicine and would become the first woman chief resident of her Emergency Medicine residency program. My mom is truly inspirational. She has worked hard to give back and even found time to create Artemis Medical Society. She has organized a national tour with Disney known as the We Are Doc McStuffins campaign and was honored by Disney with the naming of Doc’s mother character as Myiesha McStuffins. I was very fortunate that I did not have to look far to find the role model I needed to help me find my way to medicine.

I want to join my mother, grand mother and great grandmother in helping make a difference in our world. We will never end health disparities if we dont get more students interested in medicine and have them become the diverse physicians our society deserves.

4. What area of medicine are you interested in? I am interested in Emergency Medicine, Oncology and Neonatology. I want to be in a specialty where I can make a difference in people’s lives. I strongly believe we need more diversity in these type of specialties to help end disparities in care.

5. What’s the coolest experience you’ve had so far on your premedical journey?  The coolest part of my premedical journey has been working with my mother through Artemis Medical Society to advocate for greater physician diversity. I have had the opportunity to serve as the national ambassador for the pre-med club initiative, give presentations and help encourage more students of color in my generation to become physicians.

6. What is your favorite book?  My chemistry book. Its a love hate relationship. LOL

Actually my favorite book right now is Who Stole My Cheese?

7. Tell us one thing interesting about you that most people don’t know.  The one thing most people dont know about me in my current academic setting is that I am a 14 year old college freshman. Sometimes one classmate will ask me if I am 17, but most people seem to believe I am 18 years old. I appreciate that because it allows me to feel like a normal college student and I can focus on studying and getting ready for the MCAT and applying to medical school. Now where did I leave my Chemistry book?