{"id":7726,"date":"2021-03-30T14:00:47","date_gmt":"2021-03-30T18:00:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/?p=7726"},"modified":"2021-03-30T14:01:56","modified_gmt":"2021-03-30T18:01:56","slug":"earning-a-scholarship-from-a-top-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/earning-a-scholarship-from-a-top-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Earning a scholarship from a top school"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Now in med school, Elizabeth Richards\u2019 \u201914 drive to become a doctor thrived at Earlham, helping her on her way to being the socially conscious doctor she aims to be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a balmy Sunday morning in a quiet neighborhood near downtown Seattle, with bright leaves slowly drifting down from the trees. At home in her apartment, Elizabeth Richards \u201914 is studying the urea cycle \u2014 learning how our bodies get rid of toxic nitrogen. After that, she\u2019ll move on to studying the spine, and then how the brain signals the body to act. \u201cIt\u2019s fun,\u201d she says about her day. \u201cI love it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

As a first-year student at the University of Washington School of Medicine, Richards has often heard the metaphor of \u201cdrinking from the fire hose,\u201d but she\u2019s far more excited than she is overwhelmed, enjoying the chance to learn with those with similar interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s even added volunteer work to her week. Richards is co-chair of the medical school\u2019s Tar Wars program, a national program that brings med students into elementary schools to teach an anti-tobacco curriculum. She also volunteers with the Student National Medical Association, a group that provides mentorship to undergraduates of color who are interested in medicine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding her way to Earlham<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her fascination with human health started when she was a child in the small town of Stanwood, Washington, where she shadowed her physical therapist mom, Maggie Strazzo, at work and accompanied her brother, who has mild epilepsy, to the hospital for neurological trials. \u201cThat sparked my interest,\u201d she says. \u201cI distinctly remember the one where they had to shave his head and put stickers on it, and I thought that was pretty entertaining. And seeing his brain activity on the screen was really interesting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As she approached college, her dad, Chris Richards \u201975, encouraged her to consider his alma mater. \u201cHe loved it there,\u201d she says. \u201cHe wanted me to experience what it would be like to be surrounded by progressive, socially conscious, aware thinkers. He didn\u2019t pressure me, but he was really excited when I made the decision to go.\u201d The younger Richards found Earlham to be an excellent choice, and she enjoyed the opportunity to play soccer even as she pursued her academic interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

College as a catalyst<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once she got to Earlham, her interest in medicine accelerated. \u201cThe professors in the science program really stimulated my mind and my interest in science,\u201d she says, \u201cand I also realized I was good at it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Freshman year, she took an introductory biology class from professors Bob Rosenberg and Peter Blair. \u201cThey are super enthusiastic about what they teach,\u201d she says, \u201cand that made me super excited to learn. They were always making sure we were engaged, not just lecturing at us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The admiration is mutual. \u201cAfter many classes,\u201d Rosenberg says, \u201cElizabeth would come to my office and ask a really upper-level question, and I\u2019d make it clear that, \u2018You know, that\u2019s going beyond what you need to know,\u2019 and she\u2019d be like, \u2018Yeah, but still \u2014 \u2019 She was a very top performer in the classroom, and then she asked for more. You just don\u2019t get that very often.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe is a role model,\u201d he adds, \u201ca student who just knocks the socks off everybody she meets. She sets herself a goal and achieves it, but never in an arrogant way. She\u2019s such a joy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In her sophomore year, Richards took Blair\u2019s immunology class, where she was introduced to medical research. Then Blair helped her find and apply to a summer research program at a Seattle hospital, where she studied the immune systems of mice. \u201cIt was basic science,\u201d she says, \u201cpretty much as far from human as you can get.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When she got back to Earlham, she teamed up with Rosenberg on a research project with lamprey, a type of fish that can regenerate its spinal cord after experiencing a debilitating injury. \u201cThey have the facility to regenerate and reconnect their circuits in their motor pathway \u2014 to heal themselves and live normally again,\u201d Rosenberg says. \u201cWhereas for you and me, we\u2019d be paralyzed below the injury more or less permanently.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosenberg had begun the research at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, and then decided to replicate the experiments in his lab at Earlham. Richards was one of six students who helped him implement the study. They first had to construct an aquarium for the lamprey, then develop the skill to do surgery on the fish, and then create techniques for dissecting the spinal cords and collecting microscopically thin cross-sections. They used antibodies to label certain proteins in the neurons. \u201cThis was an amazing experience for me as a professor,\u201d Rosenberg says. \u201cI was building a research program from scratch here on the Earlham campus. I had a stellar team of top biochemistry and neuroscience majors.  We divided into smaller groups and they worked spectacularly together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rosenberg\u2019s research is ongoing, but he\u2019s still grateful to the students who helped him set it up. \u201cIt\u2019s all a result of these students helping me build the program,\u201d he says. \u201cThey were independent, they solved problems, and they worked incredibly hard.  It was so satisfying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

International and research experience<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the spring semester of her junior year, Richards went to India to study public health at Manipal University. She took six courses, including Ayurvedic medicine, maternal and child health, and surveillance of infectious disease. \u201cIt was awesome,\u201d she says. \u201cI noticed their emphasis on community health, and how physicians make home visits. I like the idea of incorporating health care into everyday life. I don\u2019t know how to incorporate these ideas into my future, but I\u2019d like to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After graduating, she was awarded a two-year research training fellowship with the National Institutes of Health. After interviewing with seven principal investigators who were accepting students, she decided to work with Dr. Irini Sereti, a lead doctor in the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, an HIV research lab populated entirely by female PhDs and MDs. \u201cI wanted to see what being a woman in science is like,\u201d she says. Building professional and personal relationships with her coworkers there helped her feel \u201ccomfortable, confident and supported,\u201d she explains. \u201cMany of our collaborating labs were led by men, so it was truly inspiring to see Dr. Irini\u2019s confidence in the interactions that took place.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her mentor at the lab, Dr. Maura Manion, was studying a type of T cell that is involved in immune response and that is generally present during bacterial infection. Since HIV patients typically have suppressed immune systems, the researchers were trying to figure out how the body can fight off opportunistic infections in the presence of HIV. \u201cI shadowed Dr. Manion as she saw patients, and we explained our research to them as they were providing us with samples,\u201d Richards says. \u201cAnd then I would go to the lab and work with the samples. It was really awesome to see the connection between health care and research.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although the experience was fascinating, it made her realize that she didn\u2019t want to be a researcher, but rather a doctor who works with patients on a daily basis. \u201cI get a lot of joy from talking to people,\u201d she says. \u201cThe patients we were working with, and the samples we were working on, had a story connected to them, but I didn\u2019t get to see that connection.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Charting a path in med school and beyond<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Richards did succeed in making connections between her various educational experiences as an Earlham student \u2014 both on campus and off \u2014 so that they came together as a cohesive whole. With the help of Earlham\u2019s Pre-Health Advising Program, she joined the more than 87% of applicants from Earlham who are accepted to medical school. Earlham has redoubled its efforts to help students who are interested in health careers by launching the Center for Global Health which helps students like Richards make connections between academic interests, research opportunities, off-campus study and career goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she completes medical school and a residency in internal medicine, Richards plans to specialize either in oncology or cardiology. \u201cI don\u2019t have to decide for two more years,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I\u2019m really interested in health care disparities, particularly in African American women. Cardiovascular disease is higher, and breast cancer is a huge burden on the African American female community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meanwhile, she and 99 other first-year students attend lectures four days a week, and on Wednesdays they head to the hospital for on-the-job learning. \u201cThe medical school has redesigned the curriculum so that it\u2019s more clinical right off the bat,\u201d Richards says.  \u201cWe went to the hospital the first week of orientation and started interviewing patients. It was scary, but now I\u2019m glad they just threw us in, because I feel pretty confident. I\u2019m a lot more calm.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students interview patients and practice their physical exam skills. \u201cWe dig into the history and treatment of their present illness, and ask them how they\u2019re feeling,\u201d she says. \u201cWe dig deep into their social history too, because that\u2019s a very important aspect of medicine. We just let them talk to us, and teach us. That\u2019s why we\u2019re here \u2014 for the people.\u201d<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Media contact<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Brian Zimmerman<\/strong>
Assistant vice president of strategic communications
<\/em>
Email: zimmebr@earlham.edu
Phone: 765.983.1256<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n