The Gail V. Anderson Sr., M.D. Scholarship
In 2002 the first Essentials of Emergency Medicine Conference was held in Las Vegas, Nevada. The first conference had 250 registrants and we have seen steady growth in participation since. The 2007 conference had over 650 registrants – the largest privately run conference in all of Emergency Medicine.
Last year the course organizers decided that they wanted to create a legacy of hope for the community surrounding East Los Angeles by giving 5% percent of the profits, and all of the funds collected from device manufacturers for exhibit charges, toward creating a college scholarship. A local USC affiliated public high school, Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School was targeted as a great school with many students showing academic strength and financial need. Through communication with the college counselor and an application process, two students were selected to receive this scholarship.
In July 2007, Gerardo Ramirez and Grecia Hernandez entered the office of Dr. Edward Newton and received their inaugural Gail V. Anderson Sr., M.D. Scholarship. The Scholarship is named after the first Professor and Chair of Emergency Medicine at USC. Each student received $10,000 for educational materials, tuition and related expenses. Both students had grown up in the local area, overcome serious adversity, yet had a clear vision of the future.
Gerardo Ramirez and Gracia Hernandez
Gerardo Ramirez dreams of becoming a nurse and working in a developing country with the possibility of later going back to school to study medicine. Grecia Hernandez is interested in pursuing a career in immigration law in hopes of working with underserved immigrants in the local area. Both have spent most of their lives in the East Los Angeles area; one of our recipients has had personal experience at LAC+USC in C booth through the tragic recent death of her mother.
We congratulate our first two recipients of the Gail V. Anderson Sr., M.D. Scholarship and look forward to hearing of their future successes. It is the hope of all those involved that this model of generosity will challenge others in our profession to give back to their communities in a meaningful, tangible way.
