Alumni Update: Nisha Hodge

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Nisha, a 2012 PGIA IB graduate, was on hand for the 2019 commencement ceremony last week and we were honored to have her announce our guest speaker. It was so fabulous to see Nisha back on campus to get an update on what is going on in her life.

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She brought in a photo on her at her 2012 graduation holding her “Oh the Places You’ll Go” book, by Dr. Suess, which has become a traditional gift for our graduates from their teachers and the VIMSIA staff.

Nisha, a Gates Millennium Scholar, has achieved much since her time at the PGIA. She is most certainly on a path to be the change she hopes to see in the world. Rock on, Nisha!

She gave us some of the highlights of her life since graduation:

  • In 2012, when I graduated I received the Bill and Melinda Gates Millennium Scholarship that completely covered my undergraduate and graduate education. 

  • During my freshman year of college, in 2012, I was the student keynote speaker for the IB Conference in New Orleans in which I introduced environmentalist Phillip Cousteau Jr.  

  • I attended New College of Florida and graduated in 2016 with a BA in Biology/Chemistry.  

  • I graduated in 2018, last year, with my Masters of Public Health (MPH) from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. 

  • At the beginning of medical school, I found out I received the National Health Service Corp (NHSC) Scholarship which covers the cost of medical school in exchange for my commitment to providing primary care to underserved populations. 

  • I just finished my first year of medical school at Meharry Medical College in Nashville, TN. 

  • I will be conducting clinical research in health disparities this summer at Stanford University for 8 weeks.

We at VIMSIA could not be more proud of Nisha. Oh, the places she has gone - and is going!