Meet the 2023 Scholars

"Write a letter to your younger self during a key moment in your life addressing one or more of the following: words of encouragement, lessons you have learned and/or challenges you have overcome."

Dear Heather- I know medical school is tough right now and that, nearly 500 miles from home, you miss your family and your loved ones. I know you worry about the passage of time, the toll your CF will take on your body, and how you will manage to keep up with your rotations. I feel your loneliness and worry, but I am here to say, take deep breaths; it will all work out. When you barely passed your immunology exam at the beginning of your first year, I know you wondered if you had what it would take to succeed. I know you feared that all of medical school would feel like this. You wondered if maybe you weren’t smart enough. But I am here to tell you that you are. You will pull yourself up like you always have and find a way to flourish. Just keep going. Persevere. You will remember that struggling with an exam is nothing compared to the struggles that your patients will face, and throughout it all, you won’t forget where you came from and why you bothered to come here in the first place. You will remember why you picked the line “And my song, from beginning to end, I found again in the heart of a friend” for your grandmother’s headstone. You will continue to live that line like she did, living to do beautiful, generous, and charitable acts that people can forever carry in their hearts and spread forth that kindness. You admire your grandma’s strength, her stoicism, and the fact that she was quiet but fierce. You, too, will find that in yourself. Like her, you will find a way to stand up for yourself and everything you believe in while respecting all. Your Grandma Ma had a way of making everyone around her feel better. She was not a doctor, but she knew how to heal others. You will continue to walk in her footsteps, will become a doctor, and also a healer. Sincerely and with love, Your future self