Ready to Serve

Please tell our readers about your experiences in serving patients from underrepresented populations.

EUNICE BAJOMO: From a very young age, I would regularly volunteer with my church in Lagos to provide medical outreach to marginalized populations that had no access to health care. This experience created a deep desire to pursue a career in the medical field and an interest in helping those that were underrepresented and underserved.

JASMINE BANNER: As a student at BYU, I cofounded the nonprofit HealthLink Cooperative. We partnered with Care For Life in Beira, Mozambique, to identify three main health care challenges: lack of communication between providers and patients, inefficient record keeping, and inadequate education. While piloting our progressive web application in our villages, I watched the field officer deliver a baby and use a rusty knife to cut the umbilical cord. Even with my limited knowledge I knew this could lead to complications for both the mother and baby. Though we worked to provide basic training and resources in rural villages on the other side of the globe, I realized very similar disparities in health care and education already existed in my own community. Eager to learn more and engage in social justice, I joined Teach For America after college to teach secondary science at a Title 1 school in my hometown.

JOSE GUTIERREZ: Volunteering has brought me closer to people who couldn’t afford basic necessities such as food, education, or health care. During my first year as an immigrant in the United States, I was in the exact same position. Therefore, promoting care for disadvantaged families is a professional and personal goal for me. This is a community I am part of, and I aspire to find the tools necessary to be part of the solution. One of my professional goals is setting up a free health clinic where underrepresented individuals can obtain proper care. My hope is to help bridge the gap between underserved families and health care.

NATHAN IMONIGIE: I am interested in serving disadvantaged communities with prevalent underrepresented populations because my current job as a mental health provider with the majority of my patients being refugees has spurred me towards service in that area. A key motivational factor for this endeavor is the time I spent back home in Nigeria when I was young. I experienced the lack of health resources they had and the obviously dire need for more doctors and medical facilities.

MORONI LOPEZ: When we immigrated from Mexico to Salt Lake, our family couldn’t afford insurance. Fortunately, when I fell ill, I was able to receive care at the Fourth Street Clinic in Salt Lake City. The vulnerability of that experience and being a part of a marginalized community has driven me to be an advocate for underrepresented communities in health care. I have dedicated myself to hours of service to communities whose voices are often undermined and I hope to continue, as a future physician, to serve those that are underrepresented.

RAQUEL MAYNEZ: As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, I’ve always sought out positions that enable me to assist others from disadvantaged and immigrant communities. As a volunteer for the International Rescue Committee, I tutored refugee youth and helped those seeking assistance in applying for residency, citizenship, family reunification, and more. I have also volunteered with the Volunteers of America, helping mentor youth of color in the community who have experienced, or are at risk of experiencing, homelessness.

What does this scholarship mean to you?

BAJOMO: I will be the first person in both my immediate and extended family to attend medical school in the United States. This is a huge privilege that I do not take for granted. Without scholarship patrons willing to support medical education, underrepresented students such as myself would be unable to pursue advanced medical degrees.

BANNER: Ultimately I will have more control of my time and can invest it into my passions, aligning my actions with my values, rather than focusing on paying back student loans. I believe as a physician my voice as an educator will have more reach. I look forward to continued service in underrepresented communities to mentor students, provide equitable health care, and advocate for my patients.

GUTIERREZ: This scholarship is further confirmation of the commitment of the medical school to supporting communities that are underrepresented in medicine, and this is something that aligns with my own goals.

IMONIGIE: As a minority medical student, being provided a scholarship that rewards you for your academic merit and your commitment to helping communities in need is an honor. I believe having incentives like these scholarships can motivate an individual to hold a standard of excellence for themselves. This scholarship is the foundation of a promising journey that I will utilize to help those around me and especially those in need. By facilitating in alleviating the financial burden of being a medical student, I can fully focus on what’s to come and hopefully inspire other underrepresented students like me to pursue their passion in medicine.

LOPEZ: Financial security is a privilege not often reserved for underrepresented communities. This scholarship means more than just financial support for me and my family. It is an investment in me and my community.

MAYNEZ: I plan to dedicate much of my career to humanitarian causes and organizations so I can provide care to the medically underserved, especially those within the Hispanic community. This scholarship will provide me the financial liberty to pursue my goal.

University of Utah Health CEO Michael Good, MD, earmarked $1 million to create the Scholarship in Support of Underrepresented Populations, and University Advancement is actively fundraising to generate an additional $1 million in support.

For information about the scholarship, visit ugive.app.utah.edu/designation/4284 or contact Courtney Garay at 801.635.7274 or courtney. garay@hsc.utah.edu.