PX
for medical student debt: Scholarships
“The value of not having to worry about money as we complete our medical school journey cannot be overestimated. With this scholarship, we have the ability to truly focus on our studies.” — Logan Garfield Coral Springs, Florida First year
By Ileana Varela | Photos by Doug Garland ’10
Herbert and Nicole Wertheim are supporting students who attend the medical school they established By his own admission, Daniel Lumpuy is
free ride through medical school. Seventy-three
Association of American Medical Colleges
percent of respondents to the 2017 AAMC
(AAMC), 84 percent of medical students
Medical School Graduation Questionnaire
have debt. And of those who do, the median
reported graduating with some debt. Bianca
amount owed is $190,000. Lumpuy, a fourth-
Alvarez is one of them. A member of the
year student at Herbert Wertheim College of
HWCOM Class of 2018, Alvarez estimates she
Medicine, graduates this spring.
will owe about $250,000 when she graduates.
The 28-year-old is one of 10 HWCOM students whose tuition is being paid for by the Dr. Herbert and Nicole Wertheim Family Foundation Scholarship. “I am eternally grateful to the Wertheims,” says Lumpuy. Herbert Wertheim, a long-time FIU benefactor and the college’s namesake, personally assists
“Believe it or not, I got my acceptance into HWCOM and my scholarship in the same phone call. Can you imagine? Simultaneous excitement, disbelief, gratitude and eagerness to prove Dr. Wertheim's choice a good one.” — Robert Cole Schmidt Tallahassee, Florida Second year
Not everyone is fortunate enough to get a
“ridiculously fortunate.” According to the
That is to cover her academic as well as housing and other personal expenses. “I feel better about it now because I’ve been reading a lot about financial planning and investment, but I try to live very frugally. It’s been a constant stress any time I had to spend money on anything,” she says. Alvarez, who wants to specialize in emergency
in selecting the Wertheim scholarship recipients.
medicine because it fits her personality, says
A man of humble beginnings who received
despite the financial challenges, the high cost
the 2011 International Horatio Alger Award in
of medical school was never a deterrent to
recognition of his personal and professional
pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor.
accomplishments, Wertheim knows first-hand what it’s like to be a student struggling to make
“I just couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” she says.
ends meet. He, too, won a scholarship, to Southern College of Optometry in Memphis, which helped with his tuition even as he worked to pay for his living expenses.
Beyond financial costs The issue of medical school debt is complex.
“We pick out the best of the best because
A 2016 study published in the Journal of
we believe it will help them go out and practice
the American Board of Family Medicine found
maybe in areas they might not have the same
that high education debt exacts a human cost,
financial success,” says Wertheim.
including stress, suicidal thoughts, licensing Continues SPRING 2018 | 25
