Jada Roberts
"SHPEP built my confidence and inspired me to seek out and participate in other health programs."
Ms. Roberts attended SHPEP in 2018 at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago in May 2020. Today, she attends an MCAT preparatory program at the University of Michigan and works as a full-time research assistant in the Department of Neurosurgery.
Jada Roberts
Ms. Roberts graduated from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in May 2020. While attending UIC, she majored in neuroscience with the aspiration of becoming a neurosurgeon in the future. During her undergraduate studies, Ms. Roberts participated in summer programs to help solidify her aspirations of becoming a physician and wanted to take full advantage of all resources available to minority students. In 2018, she attended SHPEP at the University of Nebraska Medical Center. It was at UNMC that Ms. Roberts developed confidence in her aspiration of becoming a health professional. SHPEP inspired her to participate in a research program at the University of Michigan’s Department of Neurosurgery in 2019.
After graduating from UIC, Ms. Roberts took two gap years to study for the MCAT as well as prepare to apply to medical school. To strengthen her application, she learned phlebotomy. Ms. Roberts devoted a year to the field and gained a lot of patient care experience during that time. Currently, she is at the University of Michigan persevering through an MCAT preparatory program and will be working as a full-time research assistant in the Department of Neurosurgery to continue her research with stroke patients.
Ms. Roberts looks forward to applying to medical school next year. She is grateful for all the opportunities that were available to her as a minority student pursuing medicine, and I owe a big thank you to SHPEP for that.