DOCTOR PAYS FORWARD HER FATHER’S GIFT OF EDUCATION aghu Bajwa began her childhood in a small town in India with no power and no schools. But her father, a farmer, had a vision. “He wanted to send us to college and especially make sure that his girls got an education,” said Bajwa. The family moved to a larger town with a school, sharing a home with relatives. “I thank him every day for having that vision and for giving me the gift of education, and now I’m at a place in my life where I can give back,” she said. Bajwa, who has a private practice in physiatry in Springfield, Mass., recently established the Bajwa Family Endowed Medical Scholarship at the School of Medicine, one of 13 scholarships created this past year. Philanthropy is one way Bajwa gives back, but there are several others. She is a cofounder of a medical school in Barbados, where she assists with clinical rotations for the medical students. And the mother of three is a member of Quinnipiac’s Parents Council. Her daughters—Jasmine and Bableen—will graduate this May. Bableen plans a nursing career while Jasmine is enrolled in the BS/MBA program and has a special interest in global health care. Her undergraduate degree is in biology. She will apply to medical schools next year. Bajwa was the first to become a doctor in her family.
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Her son, Paul, followed in her footsteps. He is the chief resident at Hartford Hospital’s Emergency Department, and his wife is chief of family medicine at UConn Medical Center. Bajwa, who has lived in the U.S. for 30 years, earned her MD degree from SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York and did a surgical internship at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. She also correlates her father’s “gift of education” with her being named a “Top Physician in America” by the Consumer Research Council of America and a “2001 Top Doc” by Connecticut Magazine. She explains that physiatry integrates physical and rehabilitation medicine and takes a multidisciplinary approach to treat acute and chronic medical problems such as stroke, spinal cord and head injuries. Upon the invitation of School of Nursing Dean Jean Lange, Bajwa lectured on the topic of back disorders to nursing students last spring. She has offered to help Lange with educational collaborations between QU and Indian colleges, hospitals and the community in the future. “Medicine has become more global these days, and this is a good way to go beyond boundaries, especially because of the medical school’s emphasis on global health care,” she said.
independent project required of all students, on strengthening health systems. She plans to be a family medicine practitioner or a pediatrician, and she would like to hold a leadership position in an international health organization as well. Hinds has an impressive amount of international exposure and experience. Her mother is from The Gambia and her father is from Guyana. She studied in Ghana during her undergraduate years. She spent several weeks in Senegal, where her cousin is a physician and runs health programs, and in South Africa. For Hinds, entering medicine has been a lifelong dream. As a child, she would
The other endowed scholarships created in the School of Medicine are: • Ruth M. Beauregard, RN, Endowed Medical Scholarship • Barry L. and Jacqueline A. Bestle Family Endowed Medical Scholarship • Gladys Brooks Foundation Endowed Scholarship • Aldo Dedominicis Foundation Endowed Medical Scholarship • William Randolph Hearst Endowed Scholarship • John & Judy Lahey Endowed Scholarship • Larson College Alumnae Endowed Scholarship • Lewis and Lorraine Panzo Endowed Scholarship • Phi Sigma Kappa Fraternity Endowed Scholarship • Primary Care Endowed Fellowship
• Ernest and Rachele Sidis Peters Endowed Scholarship • Jennifer Whiffen/Petit Family Foundation Endowed Scholarship Gifts of $25,000 and above may be used to create named, endowed scholarships in the medical school. For more information, contact Magda J. Stayton, associate vice president for health affairs development, at 203-582-8802 or magda.stayton@quinnipiac.edu. During the inaugural year of the School of Medicine (2013-14), donors who establish endowment funds also will receive the opportunity to name a space in the new building. The University will match gifts of more than $500,000.—Janet Waldman
Dr. Raghu Bajwa with daughters Jasmine, left, and Bableen, both seniors.
ask for a microscope or other science-related gifts for Christmas. “I wanted to know why people were sick,” Hinds says. As she grew older, her interest in medicine intensified. After she earned a master’s in public health at Yale University, she worked as a clinical product development manager, where she gained an understanding of the complexity in health care in the U.S. She wanted to work with patients. “The idea that I might be able to help someone address a real need, that I might be able to help someone improve their health status so that they can go on and live productive lives and achieve whatever goals they want to achieve is exciting,” she says.
WINTER 2014
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