Scholarships: An Investment in the Future
Providing financial support to medical students in Washington yields far-reaching dividends not only for the student, but also for their future patients and communities. The WSMA Foundation Future Physician Scholarship will help reduce financial barriers to medical education, increase representation in medicine, improve health equity, and strengthen the physician workforce in underserved communities.
Why Scholarships Matter
“Scholarships helped me financially, but they helped more in terms of confidence. When you wonder if you belong, if you can make it, and someone awards you a scholarship because they believe in you—that makes it possible to believe in yourself when things are hard. Even if it’s a small amount in terms of the cost of medical school, knowing that someone was willing to donate because they believed that I would be a good doctor, I worked hard to fulfill that belief.” — Jennifer Maxwell, MD, family medicine
“Scholarships not only provided crucial financial relief but also enabled me to pursue the right educational path, focus on my studies, and enter my career with a more manageable financial situation.” — Alex Hamling, MD, pediatrician
“My family is not wealthy, I grew up in a trailer park until I was 16, and so as a first generation college student, my university and medical school education would not have been possible without scholarships … having few loans made a huge difference in my choice of career and that helped me feel more confident in my choice to pursue family medicine as a specialty.” — Jose C. Flores-Rodarte, MD, MPH, family medicine
“Thanks to scholarships—the Truman Scholarship and the National Health Service Corps Scholarship—I was able to attend my dream Ivy League medical school, receive an exceptional education, and commit to serving communities in need. Without that support, I may never have become a physician. Scholarships change lives. They ensure that talented, compassionate individuals from all backgrounds can pursue medicine and become the health care leaders our communities need. Without scholarships, we will lose out on talented people who would make wonderful physicians but lack the resources to get there.” — Vivienne Meljen, MD, FACOG, MSCP, obstetrician/gynecologist