FSUMED
Colin Hackley
“ The reason I feel optimistic is because of the students . … Now when you see a protest or see something going on you see a diverse group of people joining together . I think we have a generation of students that did go to school with kids who were not of their same culture and are now growing up and saying , ‘ Wait a minute , why is this person being treated differently than me ?’ And they ’ re also somewhat empowered to speak their mind in ways they could not speak before .”
Elena Reyes , professor of Behavioral Sciences and Social Medicine ; director of the Immokalee Health Education Site
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“ Being an M . D . holds a lot of weight and people will listen to me . … So , we have a great responsibility to our population and to the people of our community to fight for them and be their voice .”
JP Megna , M . D . Class of ‘ 21
“ I think that these experiences , like any others , will shape how medicine operates . For example , due to the COVID-19 pandemic , many practices have had to offer more telemedicine visits , which I believe could be beneficial for rural communities – for there are many limitations when it comes to health care in rural areas . “… I hope to destroy biases that cause black women , specifically , to feel unseen , unheard , or misunderstood , which leads to increased healthcare risks . I hope that the fear of health care among the black community can be broken .” Christina Williams , PA Class of ‘ 21