Gratitude. Compassion. Commitment.
Many things inspire individuals to support The University of Toledo College of Medicine through their personal financial contribution.
Her own experience in obtaining a medical degree prompted Linda French, M.D., chair of UT’s department of family medicine, to recently establish a scholarship in the College.
“I got married right out of high school because I had found the right man to spend my life with. I didn’t go on to college at that time because I couldn’t figure out what I wanted to study,” she explained.
Several years later, after working as a computer programmer and having two children, she developed “an almost overwhelming desire to understand human physiology and go back to school.”
She did so, with the personal support of her family and financial backing from her grandmother, who paid for her undergraduate education, medical school and childcare expenses along the way.
“Many people told me that being a mother was not compatible with going to medical school,” she said. “But my husband, mother and grandmother all encouraged me to go ahead and try. And I succeeded!”
Dr. French acknowledges that such aspirations are not easy for mothers to pursue. “I know it is still the norm in our society to expect that women defer childbearing until after completing their education, but it doesn’t always have to be that way.” As parents begin to anticipate the cost of their children’s education, it’s especially difficult for mothers to contemplate going into debt for their own education, she noted.
The French Family Scholarship at the UT Foundation will provide financial aid for female UT medical students with children. Dr. French plans to endow and build the fund with additional gifts, to cover a large portion of tuition for its yearly recipient. In doing so, she hopes to offer medical students the same type of support—financial and emotional—that she received.
“Establishing this scholarship and making the first award felt like extending my own family,” said Dr. French. “It has made me feel more committed to the College of Medicine, UT as a whole, and the Toledo area community.”
Jeffrey Gold, M.D., dean of the College of Medicine, hopes that this type of commitment will inspire many more College of Medicine faculty, staff and alumni to give to the College.
Donors are also contributing based upon some element of their life, believes Dr. Gold, who recently established his own scholarship fund. “As we shape the future of health care, each of us has a special vision, a unique facet of interest or background that was particularly moving,” he said.
“Dr. French has already shaped one facet of our future. We are deeply grateful.”
To make a gift to benefit the College of Medicine, contact Vern Snyder, vice president for Institutional Advancement, at (419) 530-4249 or vern.snyder@utoledo.edu