TCU Medical Student Wins SignatureCare Emergency Center’s 2020 Fall Scholarship Award
Sereena Jivraj says she has always dreamed of becoming a physician and SignatureCare Emergency Center scholarship award will help offset some of her financial obligations as she pursues her medical studies
HOUSTON, TX – Sereena Jivraj, a freshman medical student at Texas Christian University (TCU) and University of North Texas Health Science Center (UNTHSC), has been awarded SignatureCare Emergency Center’s 2020 fall semester Medical and Health Scholarship.
The bi-annual $1,000 scholarship award, given to U.S. students who demonstrate commitment and passion for the healthcare and medical fields, is aimed at helping them pay tuition and other school-related expenses.
An elated Jivraj thanked SignatureCare Emergency Center for the award. She said it will help take care of her financial burden while she pursues her studies.
“As a student, every penny counts and even the smallest contribution to my medical school education can help me concentrate on fighting disparities in healthcare and becoming an empathetic scholar, and physician,” she said.
She added that being awarded the scholarship has reinforced the idea in her mind that she can succeed in her pursuit of making a positive impact in her community as a physician.
“It means a lot to me to gain support from other professionals in the healthcare field to pursue a dream I’ve had since I was a child,” Sereena said.
Recalling a recent opportunity where she volunteered at a local hospital and how that left an indelible mark on her, Sereena said that was the moment she realized she needed to do everything possible to become a physician.
“So, I took this excitement to the hospital, where I first gained exposure to the medical field, specifically the Labor and Delivery (L&D) wards and the newborn nursery. One specific opportunity arose while volunteering in L&D. I was assigned such a mundane task: position a floor lamp onto the birthing field and hold it there, steady, so that the field could be properly visualized.
“As a student, every penny counts and even the smallest contribution to my medical school education can help me concentrate on fighting disparities in healthcare and becoming an empathetic scholar and physician.”
“Ordinarily, in any run of the mill situation, holding a lamp has no significance. This was different. I physically lit the path for life. As mundane and unimportant as my job may have seemed, I played a role in welcoming a brand-new life into this world. And as I held that lamp steady, I watched as a real, focused human bore down and brought that new screaming life into the world while her physician cheered her on and kept her safe, regardless of her skin color.
“This wasn’t Grey’s Anatomy or House. This was a genuine life event unfolding right before my eyes. I was hooked. The blood and goriness of it all failed to phase me. Throughout the surprisingly quick process – this was the mother’s 5th baby – I was simply shocked that someone who was once just like me, with aspirations of taking on the field of medicine as a female physician, now had the power to literally change the world we live in and provide care to patients without bias. At that moment, I knew for certain this was the job for me,” she said.
Rhonda Abbe, Director of Operations for SignatureCare Emergency Center, congratulated Sereena for the achievement while praising her passion and commitment to the medical field.
“She deserves this award. Her passion and commitment to the medical and healthcare field is apparent and I believe she will do great things for her community and the nation,” Abbe said.
SignatureCare Emergency Center currently owns and manages emergency rooms throughout Texas with locations in Houston (Houston Heights, Montrose, Copperfield, Memorial City, Westchase, Bellaire, Mission Bend/Sugar Land, and Cypress/FM 1960), Stafford, Killeen, Pflugerville, Lewisville, Austin, College Station, Midland, Paris, Odessa, and Texarkana.
See all of our Texas emergency room locations here.
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