Serving the Community

Medell Briggs Undergraduate Major Microbiology and molecular genetics Hometown Los Angeles, California Watch video clip (1:30) Watch longer video clip (5:20)

"I grew up listening to hearts," laughs Medell Briggs, a Los Angeles, California native who counts a stethoscope belonging to her aunt among her favorite childhood toys.

But while the mysteries of the human body have fascinated her for as long as she can remember, it wasn’t until her first year as an undergraduate at UCLA that Medell decided to become a doctor. "As I got involved in various community service projects I made the shocking discovery that not all groups of people in this country have equal access to healthcare or receive the same quality of care," she says. "Being from an underserved community myself, I decided that becoming a doctor would be a great way to fight such disparity and to make a difference."

The incredible variety of clinical and professional opportunities available here allows you to be intellectually free in a way that no other school allows. Here, you learn how you can make a difference, both as a physician as well as a member of society.

Now in her fifth and final year of the MD/MPH program, Medell has already worked extensively with community health projects in the surrounding communities of Mission Hill, Roxbury, and Dorchester, been involved with a women’s health project in a regional hospital in Nakuru, Kenya, as well as spent a month in Chile learning about the successes and challenges of that country’s recent health system reform.

" While my medical education is preparing me to become the best physician I can possibly be, my master’s in public health is helping me understand the best ways to make an impact as a physician, both within my community as well as in other communities like mine," concludes Medell.