TouroCOM-Harlem awards scholarships to minority medical students

Chantal Gomes, OMS IV, first became interested in medicine as a child when her grandfather was frequently hospitalized for complications with diabetes. After volunteering as a teen at a hospital, Gomes went on to enter the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (TouroCOM-Harlem) Interdisciplinary Studies program, which offered a conditional entry into the school’s DO program.

Gomes is one of five students at the New York osteopathic medical school to receive a grant last month from the Fund for Underrepresented Minority Students. Provided by TouroCOM-Harlem in conjunction with the TouroCOM-Harlem Community Advisory Board, the fund offers scholarships to minority medical students who will work to improve health care in underserved areas upon graduation.

Other recipients include Brian Barrett, OMS IV; Patricia Jean-Charles, OMS II; Geoffrey Sanyi, OMS III; and Dale-Marie Simpson, OMS III.

“I have countless stories of doors being slammed in my face while trying to pursue medicine,” Jean-Charles told the Amsterdam News. “When I received this scholarship, it was a testament that I was meant to be here, and that all the hard work I put in meant something.”

To learn more, read the full story in the Amsterdam News.