HBCU Digest May 15, 2014 In Her Words: Howard's 23-Year-Old Med School Graduate Brittany Mcunu<http://hbcudigest.com/in-her-words-howards-23-year-old-med-school-graduate-brittany-mcunu/> Although my parents viewed the cluttered floor of my childhood bedroom as a mess, it symbolized the beginning of my journey to becoming a doctor. As the daughter of a cardiothoracic surgeon, medicine has been an integral aspect of my life. Medical journals that I had stolen from my father represented my most prized childhood possessions. The Barbie dolls, surgical scrubs, video games and medical books captured both my childhood inquisitiveness and my ambition to learn all things medical. It was not until I became older that I discovered and appreciated the enormity of the work that physicians performed. This comprehension converted my interest from a state of curiosity into a passion for the field of medicine. Spurred on by a desire to give back to the society, I threw myself into my studies with the goal to ultimately become a physician. After graduating as salutatorian of my high school class, I entered the accelerated B.S./M.D. program of Howard University, a six-year combined program. With an arduous course load of a minimum of twenty-one credit hours per semester, summer courses and MCAT preparation, this program did not afford me the typical "college experience." While my friends spent their afternoons sitting on the flag pole at the Yard or catching up over dinner in Blackburn, I sat in the Rotunda of Louis Stokes Health Sciences Library surrounded by my textbooks and coursework every day of the week. Faced with only two years to meet my graduation requirements, prepare for the MCAT and apply to medical school, I had to forfeit most of my free time and social life. Becoming a physician so that I may serve others made this sacrifice worthwhile to me. However, at times when I saw my peers strolling across the Yard or laughing on the steps of Douglass Hall as I scurried to my next class, I faltered in my resolution and commitment. As diligent and hardworking as I was, I was still only a teenager who wanted to experience all that the Mecca and surrounding D.C. area had to offer me. Sometimes, I even feared that I would look back and regret having sacrificed my peak years in college to reach adulthood too fast. My parents played an instrumental role in helping me redouble my efforts at moments of doubt such as these. "Keep your head down now so you can be a boss later," they would tell me, reminding me that the ability to earn my M.D. at 24 years of age was well worth the sacrifice. Through their guidance and encouragement, I realized the reason why I stepped foot on the Hill in the first place: to train to become a physician. While I would not be able to share as many stories of the typical college antics with my kids as the next student, I would have a greater story-rather, a testimony-of how I became a doctor just six years after graduating high school. Reassured in my decision, I entered the Howard University College of Medicine after just two years of undergraduate courses. A few years later, my undergraduate class' graduation loomed as I prepared to take the first of our standardized examinations. My parents encouraged me to take a break from keeping my "eyes on the prize" long enough to walk across the Yard in my graduation costume to accept my diploma and celebrate earning Summa Cum Laude. With my medical school graduation this May 2014 and my intern year of residency in the subsequent months, I am brought back to where this journey began; in my childhood bedroom cluttered with medical supplies and books. While attending to the broken hearts of my dolls and sleeping in my oversized scrubs, I chose a career in medicine not yet understanding just how much commitment and sacrifice that dream would require. After many years of discipline and work, I am humbled and honored to have reached my goal of having reached that elusive "boss status" by becoming a physician a few weeks shy of my 24th birthday. SANDRA M. PHOENIX Executive Director HBCU Library Alliance sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> 800-999-8558, ext. 4820 404-702-5854 Skype: sandra.phoenix1 1438 West Peachtree NW Suite 200 Atlanta,GA 30309 Toll Free: 1.800.999.8558 (LYRASIS) Fax: 404.892.7879 www.lyrasis.org<http://www.lyrasis.org/> Honor the ancestors, honor the children. Register now http://www.hbculibraries.org/html/2014meeting-form.html for the October 26-28, 2014 HBCU Library Alliance 6th Membership Meeting in Atlanta GA!