Page 24 - MSM Bloomberg Scholarship
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Bloomberg Scholarship Impact

                                     Making Student Dreams A Reality




        Darlington Pobee                     always came to mind.                         organizations? Yes, the
                                                                                          MSM H.E.A.L Clinic; the
        Snellville, GA                           Please share how                         Georgia Lions free eye
        3rd-year M.D. student                scholarship support helps                    clinic; the Grace Village

            What was your home life like     you — academically, pro-                     free refugee clinic
        when you were a child? What did      fessionally, and person-
        your family do for a living? I grew   ally? Scholarship support                       What advice would
        up with my maternal grandparents     helps alleviate a financial                  you give to someone who
        who were both unemployed. My         burden I feared when I                       is thinking of applying
        siblings and I shared a room that    started medical school. It                   to MSM? The institution
        simultaneously served as a living    allows me to solely focus on study-  is really a family, which is to say,
        room, a dining room and storage      ing and striving for excellence in   nobody gets left behind. As a mis-
        area.                                my academic career rather than       sion-driven institution, it stays true
                                             stressing about the finances needed   to nurturing aspiring doctors who

            What first interested you in     to take care of some of my basic     will address the healthcare dispari-
        your program of study or medicine?   needs.                               ties experienced by various popula-
        When I witnessed the deprived                                             tions in our country.
        healthcare conditions of my home-        What is your take on the na-
        town, New Takoradi, Ghana, at the    tionwide shortage of Black doctors?     What do you hope to accom-
        age of 11, I knew I wanted to make   Currently, blacks make up only 5%    plish in your career after gradua-
        a change to the status quo. That     of the physician workforce which     tion/residency? I hope to provide
        is when I knew medicine was the      is a pitfall to equitable healthcare.   much needed care to medically
        right career for me.                 Consciously or unconsciously,        underserved communities. I will
                                             some patients trust physicians of    participate and/or organize in free

            Why did you choose Morehouse     the same race and/or gender due      mobile clinics and medical global
        School of Medicine? Morehouse        to personal experiences, history,    mission trips.
        School of Medicine has a strong      assumptions or known facts.
        record of producing primary care         Regardless, if individuals are      If you could say or do one thing
        physicians who have a passion for    not able to access healthcare due    to thank the Bloomberg Philan-
        serving the underserved. My goals    to limited availability, their health   thropies’ Greenwood Initiative,
        as an aspiring physician aligned     and overall quality of life stands to   what would it be? Your support is
        strongly with MSM’s mission. Also,   suffer. Equally, it is important for   significant, impactful, and chang-
        MSM has a nurturing environ-         the next generation to see people    ing lives. Your support is crucial in
        ment that I believed was necessary   like themselves occupy roles they    addressing the healthcare dispari-
        for my development as a budding      aspire to attain in the future, and to   ties that face the African American
        physician.                           see role models who will guide and   community and other underserved
                                             mentor them.                         populations in this country.
            Has the financial burden of          Do you volunteer with any
        medical school been particularly
        difficult for you? Financial burden                    Your support is significant, impactful, and
        has always been a concern even be-                     changing lives. Your support is crucial in ad-
        fore I started my medical training.         “          dressing the healthcare disparities that face
        As one of four children of a single                    the African American community and other
        father, the fear for inadequate fi-                    underserved populations in this country.
        nancial support during my training
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