What further solidified her drive was when she was 14 and met an African American female physician for the first time. “Meeting Dr. Rhonda Cambridge was confirmation for me. I thought, you can do this. This is what you want and it’s going to happen,” says Douglas.
At Urban Arts Douglas worked with Anna Strout who led their social justice Media Lab program. “She taught me the ropes—how to research pressing issues, interview people, and advocate for causes,” says Douglas of her profoundly important mentor. “This cemented my desire to be in a profession where I help people.”
Strout also remained a force in Douglas’ life. “Anna saw the potential I had as a teenager and poured in her love and support,” shares Douglas. “She encouraged me to push outside of my comfort zone and apply to colleges away from home.” But Douglas kept going. Unwilling to be defeated she enrolled in the Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine to get a master of biomedical sciences. She needed to prove she was capable of succeeding on a higher level. She took out student loans. “For the first time, instead of just surviving, I was able to focus on my schoolwork,” she says. “I went into beast mode.”
That didn’t sit right with Douglas. “I wondered how many students from similarly disadvantaged communities were giving up on their dreams because of similar financial burdens,” she says. “I wondered how many bright, driven, compassionate people were excluded from the medical field because of something as simple as paying for books.”The 1001 Aspirations Project
When thinking about her achievements, Douglas credits her strong support system and those who helped get her though. In fact, it was only fitting that Strout joined her as she earned her white coat and took the Hippocratic Oath for the first time. “I owe so much to my mentors like Anna who go above and beyond to support me,” she shares. “Sometimes I wonder how I became so lucky to become her student. And I think of paying it forward.
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