Turning Dreams Into Reality

For Donika Patel ’05, D.O., an opportunity to attend the Southwest Virginia Governor’s School at Radford University as a junior in high school changed her life’s path.

Born in England to parents who were from India, Patel grew up in Wytheville, Virginia, where her parents ran a small family business. When she won a regional competition and then the statewide competition for the science fair project that she created for the Governor’s School that year, she was awarded a $20,000 scholarship to Radford.

“My family is humble and very hardworking,” Patel said. “When I won the competition and received the scholarship, my parents were thrilled. I never thought that a science fair project could be such a profound, life-changing experience. But it provided the stepping stone I needed to ultimately pursue a career in medicine.”

Today, Patel has achieved her dream; she is a successful neurologist practicing at LeBauer HealthCare in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a family of her own. She and her husband have two children, and they have settled in a community not far from her roots in Southwest Virginia.

When Patel embarked on her Radford education, her path crossed again with Mary Roberts, a biology professor at Radford (now retired) who had served as a judge in the fateful Governor’s School science fair competition. Roberts played a pivotal role in Patel’s growth at Radford, serving as an advisor and teacher and helping the young student start a pre-healthcare club on campus.

“Professor Roberts was very supportive throughout my years at Radford,” Patel noted. “She was very kind and gentle but also very encouraging when I had the idea to start the club and later to go to medical school.”

Patel noted several highlights from her Radford experience, including the faculty and honors curriculum, as well as the extracurricular opportunities available to students. In addition to volunteering at Radford Fairlawn Daily Bread and the university’s Emergency Medical Services, she tutored athletes, was a member of the International Club and participated in an immersive medical mission trip to Australia hosted by the National Youth Leadership Forum. One of 80 college students selected nationally for this opportunity, Patel and her peers visited the medical school at the University of Sydney (Australia), witnessed bush medicine in practice and learned about the Royal Flying Doctor Service, a nonprofit organization that provides health care services for those living in remote areas of Australia. Patel leveraged insights from this experience as part of her capstone project mentored by Richard Wyeth, an anatomy professor in the biology department.

When Patel began to think seriously about medical school, Wyeth wrote recommendation letters for her applications. Roberts helped her prepare for the MCAT entrance exam and apply for internships that would strengthen her application. Roberts also put her in touch with admission staff she knew at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Toward the end of her medical school experience at VCOM, Patel applied for and was accepted into a neurology residency program at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic. At the end of the three-year program, her peers selected her as Humanitarian of the Year in recognition of the way she treated her patients and interacted with her fellow residents. She went on to complete a fellowship in neuromuscular medicine at the Cleveland Clinic before deciding to move closer to her home to embark on her medical career.

Diversity of culture and a sense of community are two attributes that distinguish Radford in Patel’s mind. “I will always cherish my memories of the multicultural day events we had each year, when students and their families celebrated the food, dance, music and dress of their native cultures,” she recalled.

“I was in school at Radford on 9/11,” Patel recollected. “But as a woman of color, I never felt intimidated. Even as students of color on campuses around the country were experiencing racism in the wake of that tragedy, I always felt safe and welcome.”

What kind of advice would Patel offer to a student considering Radford University today?

“Go check out the university. It’s a beautiful campus with amazing people. Talk to the students and faculty and staff. Radford taught me how to dream and then how to make it a reality. It’s a small campus with big opportunities. What more could you want?”