Michelle Truong, a Biology Pre-Med and Psychology Major at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, TX, is the winner of SignatureCare Emergency Center’s 2022 Fall Semester Medical and Health Scholarship. She said family illness and desire to help others facing similar issues led her to pursue a medical degree.

HOUSTON, TX – SignatureCare Emergency Center has awarded its 2022 fall semester Medical and Health Scholarship to West Texas A&M University Biology Pre-Med and Psychology junior Michelle Truong.

Michelle was chosen by our panel of judges to receive the $1,000 scholarship award.

SignatureCare Emergency Center gives this semi-annual scholarship award to qualified U.S. college students who demonstrate passion and commitment to the healthcare field. The scholarship award is designed to help the students pay for tuition, room and board, books, and other school-related expenses.

While receiving the award, Michelle thanked SignatureCare for the award, adding that the scholarship will enable her to pursue her degree, and afford the cost of applying to various medical schools.

“Thank you for giving me this scholarship. This scholarship will enable me to continue to pursue my degree in Biology and Psychology. I will be applying to medical schools as a pre-med student so that I can become a full-fledged medical doctor and give back to my community and those who have supported me.

“With this scholarship, I will be able to afford schooling and apply to medical schools as those can get very expensive. Thank you so much for this opportunity,” she added.

“Psychiatry and Neurology became topics I researched outside of school. I became fascinated with how specialists in these fields could identify and treat developmental, mental, and behavioral disorders. I began dreaming of medical school and a career in these fields.

Ms. Truong said her mother’s medical issues informed her decision to become a medical doctor.

“My mother was diagnosed with bipolar depression when I was eight. I became the target of her anger shortly after. She often shifted between despising my existence and singing me praises. She often had fits of depression and mania, and would verbally assault me to make herself feel better.

“She always came to apologize afterward. From telling me to kill myself to abandoning me in far-away parking lots, my life with my mother was confusing. I constantly walked on eggshells around her. As I grew older, I started to understand that it was her mind that made her so confused. However, despite my mother being my biggest abuser, she was the reason I decided to pursue medicine.

“Mom was an immigrant from Saigon, Vietnam, who had a load of generational trauma. The problem was that in our culture, seeking mental help was frowned upon, making my mom against seeking help. She refused to take her medication and labeled anyone who took antidepressants and mood stabilizers a psychopath.

“I, on the other hand, wanted to understand what my mother was so against. I started studying my mother’s behavior to cope with her abuse. I researched medicine to see how these little pills would help someone’s mind stabilize. This is where my interest in medicine began.

“Psychiatry and Neurology became topics I researched outside of school. I became fascinated with how specialists in these fields could identify and treat developmental, mental, and behavioral disorders. I began dreaming of medical school and a career in these fields.

“The most unsupportive person I have in my life became my gateway into medicine. I was inspired by the work that Psychiatrists and Neurologists do for patients, even if they refuse treatment like my mother. When I entered college, I was afraid of pursuing medicine because of the limitations I put on myself. But now, I am determined to make my dream a reality. Hopefully, in medical school, I will study more in these fields.

“As a doctor, I hope to help people within my community of Asian Americans. I want to help reverse the generational trauma among these individuals and shine a positive light on mental and emotional health. I will do this by learning to more fluently speak Chinese and Vietnamese while advertising myself to the Asian-American community,” she added.

Rhonda Abbe, Director of Operations for SignatureCare Emergency Center, congratulated Michelle for winning the scholarship.

“Michelle has a bright future ahead of her, and it is quite obvious that what she has been through has pushed her forward and made her more compassionate. Her compassion for the field of medicine is so obvious,” Abbe added.

To apply for SignatureCare Emergency Center Medical and Health Scholarship, go to our scholarship page.

About SignatureCare Emergency Center

Houston, TX-based SignatureCare Emergency Center own 24-hour emergency centers throughout Texas, including nine ER locations in the Houston area (Montrose, Houston Heights, Cypress/FM 1960, Copperfield, Memorial City, Westchase, Bellaire, Mission Bend/Sugar Land, and Stafford), Atascocita/Humble, Killeen, Austin, College Station/Bryan, Paris, Midland, Odessa, Texarkana, Spring, Plano, and Lewisville, TX.