Growing up with her mother, who teaches English as a second language at a refugee center, Tracey knew she was passionate about doing something to make this world a better place. Deciding how to do that proved more difficult.
Tracey’s path to medical school was not the typical one. After studying environmental science, working on an old Coast Guard Cutter and teaching middle school, she decided to study public health. These studies and a rural health rotation helped her find her passion. During an internship, she witnessed first-hand the difficulties faced by many people in rural areas and understood the need for health professionals dedicated to working in underserved communities. “I had always had medical school on my radar, but now I knew it was time,” she says. By pursuing an M.D. degree, she would be able to work on public health issues and interact one-on-one with people – experiences she values tremendously.
Tracey applied to several medical schools, looking for one with a supportive environment that accepted a wide variety of people from different backgrounds. She chose the OHSU School of Medicine. Hoping to be inspired by other students who wanted to positively impact the world around them, she soon found herself surrounded by classmates who were organizing global health conferences and volunteering all over the city and the world. Tracey wanted early clinical experience. Within her first month at OHSU, she was suturing, observing brain surgeries and interviewing patients.
Tracey’s experiences at OHSU, inside and outside the classroom, cemented her desire to pursue a career in community-oriented primary care. Whether working in an international setting or in rural Oregon, she is determined to work in an area of need.
When she learned she had received the Earl DuBois Memorial Scholarship through the OHSU Foundation, Tracey says, she was speechless. “I felt a huge sense of relief that I would not be forced to take a higher paying job because of my loan payments and could instead focus on the reason I decided to become a physician – to help those most in need,” she says. “While I am the one who received the scholarship, it has the potential to touch so many more.” Tracey hopes that through her work as a physician and community health leader, she will carry the gift further and impact more lives. She plans to pursue this avenue as a physician and leader in the future by working to build healthy rural communities.
