Pictured: The newest MD 2020 Class members and 2018 ʻImi Hoʻōla Program graduates.
By Deborah Manog Dimaya, UH Med Now
Through a University of Hawaiʻi post-baccalaureate program, students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds are breaking down academic barriers and earning their acceptance letters to the John A. Burns School of Medicine.
The ʻImi Hoʻōla (Hawaiian for “those who seek to heal”) Post-Baccalaureate Program is a rigorous year-long medical school preparatory “boot camp” for aspiring physicians who come from historically underrepresented communities.
“Just by virtue of my zip code, I did not have access to the same opportunities as my more affluent peers,” said Jester Galiza, MD 2020 Candidate from ʻEwa Beach.
According to Galiza, ʻImi has addressed the opportunity gap by leveling the playing field and, he says, “teaching us skills that would equip us tremendously in medical school so that we could compete with our peers.”
Entering JABSOM through this non-traditional pathway is quite the feat as not everyone admitted into the ʻImi Hoʻōla Program makes it to the very end. This year, however, a whopping 11 became the newest students of the UH medical school’s Class of 2022.
Team work was a major factor of success for this group of students, according to MD 2020 Candidate Brittany Sato, of Waiʻanae.
“It’s really important to know that you’re not competing against each other, you have to support each other so we all move forward,” Sato said. “And so I think that is why 11 of us are going to be celebrating tonight.”
This diverse group of students hail from as nearby to the Kakaako campus as Kalihi, to as far as Guam and includes a new mom, a former emergency medical scribe and a former emergency medical technician. Their academic degrees range from a BA in East Asian Languages and Cultures to a PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology.
We’re so proud of JABSOM’s newest medical students:
Jester Galiza (Ewa Beach, Oʻahu), Andy Hwang (Kailua, Oʻahu), Arlene Kiyohara (Honolulu, Oʻahu), Maggie Kwock (Honolulu, Oʻahu), Jennifer Lau (Honolulu, Oʻahu), Kevin Martinez (Barrigada, Guam), Brittany Sato (Waiʻane, Oʻahu), Andrew “Ken” Stridiron (Kapolei, Oʻahu), Dillon Tacdol (Wailuku, Maui), Christina Tse (Honolulu, Oʻahu) and Kristine Vo (Barrigada, Guam).
Meet some of them in our video (above).
About the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program
For 45 years, the ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program has invested in aspiring doctors who display great potential but who will have a better chance at successfully navigating medical school after a year-long preparatory program. The program has grown to allow a maximum of 12 students each year, each of whom receives a stipend provided by The Queens Health Systems. ʻImi, part of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, recruits students from historically underprivileged or disadvantaged backgrounds. It is an enormous success, with more than 240 physicians having successfully completed ʻImi and medical school. Most of them are practicing medicine here in the islands, giving back to underserved communities.
See all photos from the Ceremony
UH Med Now’s Vina Cristobal and Tina Shelton contributed to this report.