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UTHSCSA
DEAN’S MESSAGE
would like to highlight several, to give an idea of the breadth and twice. During his undergraduate career at Brigham Young Uni-
diversity our policies have brought to our current student body. versity, he took a two-year hiatus for a Mormon mission (an expe-
rience he has in common with Spencer Cope), to which he
Second-year medical student Spencer Cope was diagnosed with attributes his ability to talk to people across cultures and educa-
dermatomyositis when he was 13 years old, and suffered with the tional backgrounds. After graduation, he spent another year in
rare autoimmune disease until the age of 19. After graduation the business world, working for a company that tests medical de-
from Brigham Young University, he took a summer internship at vice packaging, an encounter that gives him an uncommon appre-
the University at Utah in pediatric rheumatology. His experience ciation for the community of behind-the-scenes partners that
over the summer was transformative; he felt as if he were partici- contribute to success in the operating room.
pating in cutting-edge medical research as part of a clinical team,
and simultaneously interacting with and personally helping chil- Last, but not least, Henderson Jones spent seven years practicing
dren in the same circumstances that he had endured. Spencer de- law in his native Mississippi before he recognized a strong desire
ferred medical school for two years after we accepted him, to change professions. Inspired by an older brother who is an
amassing an impressive research pedigree and a deep understanding emergency physician, Henderson dedicated himself to preparations
of how medical research is conducted. for medical school, and is now a 35-year old second year medical
student. His legal training gives him a unique perspective on med-
Mazen Hassan’s route was entirely different, but just as fascinat- icine and public health and he serves as a Student Government
ing. He graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a representative for the School of Medicine; he has been instrumen-
radio-television-film and marketing double major, which he im- tal in recent initiatives involving issues including mental health
mediately put to work, spending five years in Hollywood. He re- and a community garden. He credits his time as a lawyer for a nu-
turned to Austin to work as an associate video producer for a large anced understanding of how power works in a society, and has a
advertising agency, and there discovered a latent love for science. vision for translating that understanding to endeavors that ensure
A part-time job at a bookstore gave him access to science texts and medical decisions are made for the patient’s benefit, rather than
kindled a dream to change professions. He moved to San Antonio, for other reasons.
took undergraduate prerequisites, and now, at 34, is one of the
oldest in his cohort of second-year medical students. Mazen’s ex- This is a small sampling of the non-traditional students prepar-
perience in the fast-moving business of film production has devel- ing for a medical career here. The experiences and attributes of
oped his ability to quickly solve problems in complex these and others help to bring a more diverse set of perspectives to
environments, a skill that profits his studies now and will benefit patient care – a very valuable asset for our patients that continue
his patients in years to come. to become more and more diverse themselves.
For Janice De Surmont, a path across continents and industries All the best,
grants important perspective. After an itinerant childhood with
an Air Force family, she earned an economics degree from Brandeis Francisco González-Scarano, MD
University and worked in a string of financial positions for firms Dean, School of Medicine
focused on venture capital, benefits consulting, and the mortgage Vice President for Medical Affairs
industry. Since then, her husband’s job has taken her to far-flung Professor of Neurology
locales like Nigeria and France, where she prepared to enter med- John P. Howe, III, MD, Distinguished
icine; after experiencing a money-making career, she now values Chair in Health Policy
the prospect of a profession that helps others. In addition, her ex- The University of Texas Health Science
periences with many cultures, walks of life, and socio-economic Center at San Antonio
status have broadened her ability to connect with all kinds of peo- scarano@uthscsa.edu
ple – and influence their health for the better.
Third-year medical student Eric Bready delayed medical school
visit us at www.bcms.org 27
