Jeanne Rolle

UConn School of Medicine, Class of 2018

I was born on the island of New Providence, Bahamas, and lived there until the age of 11, then moved to Hempstead NY, where I spent the rest of my childhood. I attended Nassau Community College in Long Island, New York for two years, then transferred to Oakwood University in Huntsville, Alabama. There I majored in biology, and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology.

It was at Oakwood University that my interest for volunteer service and community outreach was aroused. There, I got involved with a student-led humanitarian organization known as NAPS, the National Association for the Prevention of Starvation. NAPS is an organization of volunteers that travel the US and the world, aiding in hunger, disaster, and medical relief. In my five years with NAPS, I was given the opportunity to serve in various ways. I took part in community outreach to underserved populations, where we conducted tutoring programs, children’s programs, health fairs, feeding programs in “tent cities” across America, and medical outreach in poor rural areas in Mississippi, Alabama, and foreign locales. These experiences developed within me a genuine compassion for humanity, a consistent loyalty to the pursuit of this profession, and a desire to continue in both local and global outreach in my future as a physician.

The main reason why I sought involvement in the Urban Service Track was because I want to continue to serve my community as I embark upon becoming a physician. I believe that the Urban Service Track will provide me with skills that I lacked before, namely the skills needed to serve others as a healthcare professional. I expect for my experiences with the Urban Service Track to enable me to make a difference in my field of medicine by teaching me how to meet the specific physical, mental, and social needs of communities with disparate healthcare needs, and how to have such an influence within my community that my service will lead to less health problems for future generations.