Our Mission
SSTRIDE CELEBRATES 30 YEARS
Supporting aspiring physicians from underserved populations
Thesla Berne-Anderson ’ s family moved from the Bronx , New York , to the Virgin Islands when she was a child , hoping the climate would help doctors there heal her chronic breathing problems . Her successful treatment showed her what physicians can do and inspired her to become one herself .
Once in college , she excelled in her biology classes and her path seemed set — until she ran into organic chemistry and physics in her third year of studies . Ill-prepared and lacking a support network to help overcome the challenge , she realized she would not fulfill her dream of becoming a doctor . Changing her major , Berne-Anderson became a middle school science teacher . As a person of faith , she knew she was meant to help others somehow .
Through destiny , perseverance , divine intervention or some combination , Berne-Anderson ultimately fulfilled her goal of helping the medically underserved in a manner she never could have envisioned — and for which hundreds of physicians and other health-care professionals are profoundly grateful .
In December 2023 , many of them joined Anderson and the College of Medicine leadership team — including Dean Alma Littles , M . D ., Senior Associate Dean of Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences ( IMS ) Anthony Speights , M . D ., and Associate IMS Dean Elizabeth Foster , Ph . D . — to celebrate 30 years of SSTRIDE , Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity and Excellence . One of several FSU outreach programs Anderson had a hand in creating , SSTRIDE ’ s purpose is to help students from underserved populations overcome the kind of obstacles that derailed her plans to become a physician .
Florida State University College of Medicine
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A REPORT TO OUR COMMUNITY