WINTER 2016
IUMEDICINE
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A RETURN HOME Kent Brantly, his wife, Amber, and Dean Jay Hess at a book signing and speaking session hosted by the IU School of Medicine in July.
Scholarship was ‘priceless’ in Brantly’s mission to serve
L
ucille and Jay Kahn played a big role in getting Dr. Kent Brantly where he is today. But it just so happens that he never met them. Years before Dr. Brantly was admitted to medical school, Mrs. Kahn set up a bequest to establish the endowed Jay C. and Lucile L. Kahn Scholarship at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Her reason was simple: She and her late husband cared deeply about their community and promoting health care. Mrs. Kahn passed away in 2002, and Brantly became one of the very first recipients of the scholarship that bears the Kahns’ names. “It was incredible, as a recently admitted student, to get that affirmation of a scholarship,” Brantly said. “It helped me start
school off with some confidence: I made it here, and someone else thought I deserved to be here.” More than providing an emotional boost, it provided invaluable financial assistance. Brantly received $8,000 a year for all four years of medical school. Medical school debt is a serious concern for all students. Almost 85 percent of IU School of Medicine graduates will leave with loan obligations, which for the most recent class averaged $184,000. But it was particularly a worry for Brantly, who knew his income would be limited as a medical missionary. Having $32,000 less in medical school loans “was priceless,” he said. Dr. Jay Hess, dean of the IU School of Medicine, noted that donors who support scholarships
SUPPORT SCHOLARSHIPS To make a gift to support scholarships for medical students at the IU School of Medicine, contact: Jill Kooiman 317-278-2113 jkooiman@iu.edu
simply cannot begin to imagine the impact they may have on a medical student, and what that student may go on to accomplish through his or her career. “A scholarship didn’t make Kent Brantly a selfless physician,” Hess said. “He came to IU already destined to serve the world’s neediest and most vulnerable people. But a scholarship can make it easier for students to follow the path they choose.” For his part, Brantly wants donors to know their generosity makes a very real difference—not only in students’ lives, but in the lives of the patients they go on to care for. “You may not get a return on investment in your bank account,” he said, “but you are giving a return to society.”