Recent Xavier University of Louisiana graduate Rachel Coleman was awarded the 2020 Ochsner Health Medical School Scholarship for LSU Health Shreveport – School of Medicine. The scholarship award will cover cost of tuition and fees for Coleman to attend LSU School of Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport.
Coleman graduated with a pre-med major in biology and a double minor in chemistry and Spanish, as well as a certificate in Medical Spanish. Born and raised in New Orleans, Coleman is an active volunteer with community organizations. Most recently, she volunteered at a local women’s health facility, engaging young women about health topics while shadowing a nurse practitioner. This also gave her the opportunity to gain hands-on experience while still attending classes. While at Xavier, she was selected as a member of several honor societies, including The National Society of Leadership and Success and the Alpha Epsilon Delta Health Preprofessional Honor Society.
“The current pandemic has elucidated the professionalism, altruism, courage, and caring of our physicians. Ochsner is proud to partner with Xavier and LSU Health Shreveport to help train more physicians for Louisiana that are representative of the communities we serve. We stand together in making an investment to improve the health of our state,” said Leonardo Seoane, MD, chief academic officer, Ochsner Health.
To qualify for consideration for this scholarship, students are required to be a Louisiana resident, Xavier student, and have already been accepted into the LSU Health Shreveport – School of Medicine. To apply for the scholarship, Xavier students submitted an application detailing academic accomplishments, recommendations, and an essay reflecting on how they have overcome adversity. A joint Xavier and Ochsner committee reviewed the applications and selected the final scholarship recipient. One scholarship recipient is selected annually for this scholarship program. The inaugural 2019 honoree was Sarah Bertrand of Marrero, La.
“When I told Quo Vadis Webster, my advisor in the Pre-Med Office, that I had been accepted into LSU Health’s Shreveport School of Medicine, she told me that every Xavier student has the opportunity to apply for a scholarship through Ochsner. I’m so happy I applied,” said Rachel Coleman.
The scholarship program marks the next evolution in a long-standing relationship between Ochsner and Xavier, which dates to the early 1980s when Ochsner and Xavier’s College of Pharmacy established an affiliation agreement partnership to provide educational experiences to pharmacy students. Through this partnership, Ochsner has provided clinical training for an average of 80 Xavier pharmacy students each year. Last year, Ochsner and Xavier announced the launch of a new physician assistant program, with the first class beginning in January of 2020.
“We are grateful to Ochsner Health System for funding a full tuition and fee scholarship at the LSU Health Shreveport School of Medicine benefitting a deserving Xavier University student. We are excited to have Rachel Coleman joining our freshmen class and commend her outstanding undergraduate accomplishments,” shared Dr. Debbie Chandler, associate dean of diversity and student affairs.