Entering Class of Medical Students Joined by Common Goal: Serving Those in Need.

August 28, 2024

By Pat Shellenbarger

In a video during her preschool graduation, Olivia Gardiner was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up. “A doctor,” she answered. 

A couple of decades later, she was among 190 first-year students who began their journeys toward that goal during the College of Human Medicine’s annual White Coat and Matriculation Ceremony on August 17. 

“It was just a really special moment for me,” said Gardiner, who was assisted in donning her white coat by her cousin, Morgan Dudley, MD, a 2016 College of Human Medicine graduate, and her uncle, Vincent Pernell, MD, a 1987 graduate of the college. “I felt like it was the culmination of what I’ve been working toward.” 

Or perhaps just the start. 

Donning his white coat “made me feel like the steps of this journey are just beginning,” said Davarius Carter. 

For Riya Aggarwal, it was “a moment I’ve been dreaming about for as long as I can remember.” 

The three are members of a diverse student body. Of those entering the College of Human Medicine in 2024:

• Of the 190 matriculating students, 61.5% are female, 38% are male and 0.5% are another gender identity.
• 86% of students are from Michigan.
• 11% of the incoming class are from groups designated Underrepresented in Medicine.
• 24% of students are from rural areas.
• 49% of students are from disadvantaged backgrounds, low income or are first generation college students.
• 17% of students entered via outreach programs (8 through the ABLE program, 25 through the Early Assurance Program).

View more about this year's entering class

Although from different backgrounds, Gardiner, Carter, Aggarwal and their classmates are bound by one overriding goal: to serve those most in need. 

“My classmates definitely embody the college’s mission statement,” Gardiner said, including a commitment to meeting “the needs of the medically underserved.” 

She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan and a master’s in medical physiology from Case Western Reserve and then volunteered as a doula, providing physical and emotional support for women during childbirth. 

“Being a doula truly cemented that I wanted to be a physician,” Gardiner said. “As a physician, I really want to be a strong advocate for my patients.” 

Growing up in Muskegon Heights, Carter never saw a Black doctor. He excelled academically and athletically in high school, played football at Hope College, and eventually plans to open a medical practice in his hometown, possibly in orthopedics or sports medicine. 

“I’m really excited to get started,” he said. His goal not only is to care for the medically underserved, but to inspire young people “that it’s okay to be smart. You can accomplish big things if you put your mind to it.” 

Even before enrolling, Aggarwal already was accomplished in the seemingly unrelated fields of art and medicine. As a first-generation American, whose parents immigrated from India, she was inspired by her Hindu and Punjabi culture to become a henna artist, creating temporary, intricate designs on hands and feet at parties, weddings and festivals. 

At the University of Michigan, where she was an undergraduate, she became a medical illustrator for research papers, and she published “Leela’s Braids,” a children’s book about a young girl dealing with hair loss due to alopecia areata, an autoimmune disorder. 

While her art always will be an important part of her life, medicine will be her career. 

“I can’t remember a time I didn’t want to go into medicine,” Aggarwal said. “For me, the biggest thing that appealed to me was the College of Human Medicine’s commitment to serve the people of Michigan.” 

Like her classmates, she is committed to “breaking down health disparities,” she said. “Really, it’s about giving back to the community that has helped me so much.”  

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