OUTREACH AND DIVERSITY
40
STRIDING TO MEDICAL SCHOOL AT FLORIDA STATE
By the time medical students Ciara Grayson , Jacqueline Hanners , Cydney Terryn and Nora Waryoba showed up for class , they had been part of the College of Medicine ’ s pipeline system for many years . That doesn ’ t mean the pipelines were clogged . Just the opposite . It means these long pipelines were doing their job : patiently and smoothly developing a diverse array of promising students from middle and high schools in rural , minority and other typically overlooked communities . These four FSU medical students were part of SSTRIDE – Science Students Together Reaching Instructional Diversity & Excellence . Every year , stories about the College of Medicine ’ s best-known pipeline program are encouraging . And 2017 was no exception . In all , 97 percent of SSTRIDE alumni currently being tracked have gone on to college , where 56 percent of them have majored in science , technology , engineering , math or medicine . Ten of them have enrolled in the College of Medicine . Grayson , Hanners and Terryn are the newest members of that group . Grayson , a Tallahassee native , followed the pipeline from high school SSTRIDE to undergraduate USSTRIDE , where she served as student coordinator while pursuing a degree in exercise physiology at FSU . In 2017 she was awarded her master ’ s in biomedical sciences through another pipeline , the Bridge to Clinical Medicine program , and then began med school . “ I ’ m the first person in my family to pursue medicine ,” Grayson said . “ A lot of us minorities don ’ t have the resources , connections or mentors to guide us through the process , and the programs provided me with that . Some of the mentors I had in high school were in SSTRIDE themselves , and they ’ re in residency now . It ’ s so inspirational to see that .” Watching her sick grandfather struggle to receive medical care ultimately pushed her to explore medicine as a way to give back to minority and underserved communities . “ My grandparents lived in Lloyd ,” said Grayson . “ It ’ s a rural community , so when my grandfather was sick , he wasn ’ t able to travel to go see his oncologist and different doctors .” Like Grayson , Terryn had a knack for science and was drawn from a young age to the medical field . Her initial exposure was removing splinters for lots of workers at her parents ’ construction sites in the small town of Crestview . Soon afterward , she became involved in SSTRIDE . “ The program really kept my interest by making the connections to medicine and assigning special projects separate from the rest of school ,” said Terryn . “ They brought in speakers with success stories that were inspiring and made our goals seem very attainable . Receiving that guidance at such a young age really built my confidence , even if I didn ’ t realize it at the time .” SSTRIDE is where Terryn met Hanners . They traveled the pipeline together from middle school in Okaloosa County , through their undergraduate careers in USSTRIDE , and ultimately to the College of Medicine . All three credit SSTRIDE with fostering a sense of belonging not only within the medical field , but as part of the FSU community . “ The experience itself led me to really want to go to FSU because I knew they cared about me ,” said Hanners . “ SSTRIDE was very welcoming . It wasn ’ t a competition . They truly wanted me , and everybody , to succeed – and I felt that since eighth grade .”
( l-r ): Jacqueline Hanners , Ciara Grayson and Cydney Terryn .