2020 Honoree

Shivan Berwari 
Medical Student
Quillen College of Medicine - East Tennessee State University
​KAMSA Co-President

My parents were refugees;I grew up in Kurdistan and immigrated to the United States. In America I sought to care for my community by becoming a doctor. Despite limited resources and fewer role models, I matriculated into medical school while focusing on service with the Red Cross, instructing my fellow college students, volunteering, translating for refugees, and much more. Since starting medical school, I've had the privilege of being involved in KAMA: leading the student arm of the organization, mentoring undergraduate and medical students younger than me, leading the efforts for public service campaigns, and always empowering my kurdish community to follow by example. I plan on completing my medical education and applying to an Emergency Medicine residency program in my home state of Tennessee. I want to practice medicine to serve my patients, my family, my community, and the world’s destitute areas like my homeland.

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