Alumni Stories

Dr. Dotson participated in SMDEP at the Yale School of Medicine in 2012. He completed college at the University of Texas at Dallas, where he studied neuroscience, while minoring in music, with an emphasis in classical piano and composition. Today, Dr. Dotson is a resident Ophthalmologist at the University of Iowa Hospital and Clinics.

Mr. Barca attended SHPEP in 2020 at the University of Florida College of Medicine. He is currently a fourth-year biochemistry student at the University of Florida and plans on taking a gap year upon graduating in December 2022. During this time, Mr. Barca plans on working as a clinical research assistant and will be applying to medical school during the 2023 cycle.

Ms. Ngouonga graduated from the University of Washington in 2021 with a degree in medical anthropology and global health. Today, she is a research coordinator in the University of Washington’s Gynecologic Oncology department where she works on studies of ovarian cancer genetics and endometrial cancer disparities.

Ms. Palushi attended SMDEP in 2015 at Howard University College of Medicine. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maryland College Park School of Public Health in 2017. She is now a third-year medical student.

Ms. Tobongye attended SHPEP in 2020 at the University of Iowa. Since her participation in SHPEP, she graduate from Grand View University in 2021 with a bachelor's degree in Biology and minor in Chemistry and honors on a pre-medical track.

Ms. Duckett is a rising senior at Spelman College majoring in Psychology on the pre-medical track. She will complete her undergraduate program in May 2023. She participated in the SHPEP virtual program at Columbia University in 2020.

Dr. Asha Morrow attended SMDEP in 2007 at Columbia University. She graduated from Emory University School of Medicine in 2013, and now lives in Houston, Texas, where she is a pediatric emergency physician.

Ms. Awura Ama Afari is MBA graduate from Mercy College. After attending SHPEP in 2017, she completed a bachelor's degree in health services administration and a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in healthcare management. Ms. Afari currently works as a project manager at MedRite Urgent Care in New York, NY.

Mr. Jeudy participated in SHPEP in 2019 at the University of California Los Angeles and Charles R. Drew University. Currently, he is senior at Louisiana State University and expects to graduate in December 2022 with a degree in kinesiology with a pre-medicine concentration.

Ms. Mitchell participated in SHPEP in 2019 at the University of Iowa. She graduated from the University of Iowa in 2022 with a degree in Interdepartmental Studies: Multidisciplinary Sciences, Health Science Track with a minor in Spanish.