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Michelle K. Shuff
"I want to surround myself with colleagues who will share my visions for universal access to quality healthcare and innovative research and advocacy programs."
- Alumni of: 2005 Graduate Scholarship Program
- Resides: San Francisco, CA
- Hometown: Temecula, CA
- Age: 31
- Community College: Grossmont College
- Four-year College or University: University of California, San Diego
- Graduate School: University of California, San Francisco
- Academic/Career Pursuits: Health Care, Medical Practitioner
- Other Interests: Foreign Languages / International Study, Government, Health Care, Public Policy, Sports
Biography
Michelle Shuff says a medical clinic can offer free care to the underserved but still fail if it is "open only on weekdays, or employs people who speak only English or is not located on a public transit route." She looks forward to doing more, including using multilingual mobile clinics to take preventive care to underserved patients.
Michelle feels intensely about this goal, having grown up in poverty without consistent healthcare. She dropped out of high school at 13. A compassionate local doctor intervened at a crucial time, giving her and her mother far more than free treatment. He treated them with respect, reassured them they would survive, and urged Michelle to return to school, telling her she "had the intelligence to do great things if I would apply myself." She went back at 15, found a passion and aptitude for biology the next year, and she says, saw "a clear vision of my future in medicine. The fog had lifted for me. I excelled in class, graduated early, and moved out on my own." At UC-San Diego, she graduated Phi Beta Kappa and summa cum laude with honors in biology.
Michelle wants to become "an advocate for change in social and political aspects of medicine," to share information with colleagues on what works and help get legislative and financial support for those. The end results, she hopes, will "identify and overcome barriers to healthcare, allowing us to effectively treat the patient and the community."
Other Scholars Like Michelle
Edwina Loh
Undergraduate Transfer Scholar
University of California, Los Angeles
Allison Evans
Graduate Scholar
Duke University
Rocky Chavez
Graduate Scholar
University of California, San Diego
Danielle Osler
Graduate Scholar
Harvard University