SMMA’s scholarship recipient Tatiana Neal

SMMA’s scholarship recipient Tatiana Neal:“The Sinkler Miller Medical Association Scholarship enabled me to move forward with my post-baccalaureate studies by providing support for my education and welcoming me into a network of professionals within the field I aspire to contribute to.

After completing my undergraduate studies in Sociology and Psychology at UCLA, I was set to begin a post-baccalaureate program though UC Berkeley Extension to tie in the biological component to my psychosocial background. Though I was completing the necessary pre-requisites to apply to medical school, I was aware that there were additional elements to becoming a physician and I was in search of mentors who could elucidate the routes to attaining my goals. Because my interests were in line with medicine, law, and academia, I wanted to learn how to create a symbiotic relationship among these interests with the goal of shaping my career path to create sustainable, positive, changes within my community.

I was contacted by SMMA President, Dr. Joy Foster, in the Winter of 2019. Dr. Foster kindly invited me to a general SMMA meeting and introduced me to several physicians, including a physician who worked in the specialty of medicine I had a keen interest in. I was welcomed by individuals who were interested in helping me achieve my goals and providing me with exposure to different aspects of the medical field. This was eye-opening for me as I was shown there were definitely ways to become a dynamic individual in medicine, while serving several purposes from the medical platform.

Since this time, the members of SMMA have collectively provided me with an abundance of support and mentorship that has helped create clarity in how to move forward with the pursuit of my career. SMMA provided a space where I learned how to lean into my strengths while learning how to develop new skills along the way that are beneficial at every level of my career.

Since winning the SMMA scholarship in Fall 2019, I’ve nearly completed my post-baccalaureate, submitted abstracts that were presented in the 4th World Congress of Cutaneous Lymphomas, submitted science journals under review for publication, and have volunteered in my community for causes I value. Equally important, I feel that I have a clear view of how I can utilize a career in medicine as a vehicle to serving my community in a sustainable manner.

The support of SMMA has been a crucial element in my development as a contributing community member and future physician. I look forward to continuing the vision of empowering the next generation of physician leaders through mentorship, advocacy, and service once I reach a platform achieved largely due to the altruism and support of Sinkler Miller Medical Association.

“Read more about SMMA’s scholarship.

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