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Strong pipeline programs are vital for students in rural and underserved communities , said Thesla Berne-Anderson , director of college and pre-college outreach at the College of Medicine . “ Their challenges come from a lack of opportunities ,” she said . “ Their schools might not have up-to-date resources and technology that can engage students . They may lack mentors and role models . And most of all – especially with large class sizes – what ’ s lacking is consistent involvement from individuals who are capable of encouraging , empowering and engaging them day to day .”
SSTRIDE ALUMNI WHO HAVE ATTENDED THE COLLEGE OF MEDICINE :
Uchenna Ikediobi Class of 2010 Status : Practicing Instructor in Medicine and Infectious Diseases VA Connecticut Healthcare System and Yale School of Medicine New Haven , Conn .
Brett Thomas Class of 2014 Status : Resident Family Medicine Residency Program Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center Winston-Salem , N . C .
Kany Aziz Class of 2015 Status : Resident West Virginia University School of Medicine Internal Medicine / Pediatrics Residency Charleston , W . Va .
Jonathan Hester Class of 2017 Status : Resident Psychiatry Residency Program Wright-Patterson Medical Center Dayton , Ohio
SSTRIDE alumni currently in medical school at Florida State : Class of 2020 – Jacob Hentges and Tarvis Peacock ; Class of 2021 – Ciara Grayson , Jacqueline Hanners , Cydney Terryn and Nora Waryoba .
WHY IT MATTERS
As chief diversity officer for the Association of American Medical Colleges , David Acosta has an appreciation for programs like SSTRIDE and for the medical students those programs produce . “ It ’ s especially important for students who have been historically underrepresented or come from disadvantaged backgrounds ,” he said . “ Disadvantaged means not just from a financial standpoint , but also from an educational standpoint that they haven ’ t enjoyed the riches and the privileges of being in a school district that ’ s able to provide them every opportunity possible .” Acosta , who spoke ( and listened ) at the FSU College of Medicine in January , has a personal history with outreach programs . “ Most of the kids in them , like me , don ’ t have parents that have gone through the educational system and know how to navigate it . My dad was taken out of sixth grade because he was physically built to pick in the orange fields . My mom was taken out of school in eighth grade because she was big enough to work on the farm ,” Acosta said . “ They were upset because they wanted the education . What they instilled in our brain is that – you ’ re not going to work like we did , you ’ re going to [ get an education ]. “ By ninth grade people are starting to ask you what you want to do . If nobody has told you – ‘ I think you could be a nurse , I think you could be a doctor ’ – that doesn ’ t even cross your mind ,” he said . “ Pipelines have helped them make that realization . Their mindset changes from ‘ You can ’ t do it , you ’ re an impostor , you don ’ t belong here ,’ to a mindset that they can do it . “ Pipeline programs can identify the talent in a kid , and it might be the first person – other than Mom and Dad – that said to them , ‘ You can do this .’ And that means the world . It ’ s as simple as that , and your SSTRIDE program has a great reputation because of that . They have been very successful for 25 years .”