Like many TMA Minority Scholarship Program recipients, Gaspar Pina was a first-generation college student with numerous hurdles to overcome in pursuit of his dream to become a physician. But thanks to the $10,000 minority program scholarship funded by TMA Foundation, Mr. Pina says he is prepared to break boundaries and “work on creating a safe and inclusive environment for everyone in such a way that more doctors can look like and be part of the communities they serve.” Mr. Pina is from Austin and will attend McGovern Medical School at UTHealth in Houston this fall.
Mr. Pina is one of 15 minority students entering Texas medical schools this fall who each will receive a $10,000 scholarship from the Texas Medical Association. Physicians selected the students for their academic achievement, commitment to community service, and desire to care for Texas’ increasingly diverse population. TMA announced the winners last spring during TexMed 2021.
TMA created the Minority Scholarship Program – which TMA Foundation funds – in 1998 to help diversify the physician workforce to meet the health care needs of Texans. The TMA Educational Scholarship, Loan, and Awards Committee chooses one recipient for each Texas medical school from a competitive field of promising future physicians.
The scholarship encourages minority students to attend medical school by lessening the financial burden of their postgraduate education, which averages more than $175,000. TMA has awarded 163 scholarships totaling $1.1 million since the program’s inception.
Recipients are known as the “Bayardo Scholars” in recognition of the majority support provided by the TMA Foundation Trust Fund of Roberto J. Bayardo, MD, and the late Agniela (Annie) M. Bayardo of Houston. Other generous gifts from H-E-B; St. David’s Foundation; and the TMAF Patrick Y. Leung, MD, Minority Scholarship Endowment support this year's scholarships, as well as TMAF donor physicians and their families, and TMA county medical societies. See a complete list of top donors.
“Meeting and hearing from the medical students I have helped continues to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life,” said Dr. Bayardo. “Their dedication and aspiration to care for Texans, particularly those in need, makes me feel that the future of medicine is indeed in good hands.”
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