STUDENT SUPPORT

Following Her Heart

"Asya" means "caregiver," in Arabic, and it seems that first-year medical student Asya Mu'Min was destined to be a doctor. "I truly am a caregiver, inherently," she says. "I've just always known that I wanted to be a doctor, and now that it's beginning to happen I'm so excited."

A 2002 graduate of Dartmouth College with a degree in psychology, Asya completed a health careers preparation program at the Harvard University Extension School prior to being accepted at UVM's College of Medicine.

Asya's partner Nate Moody and three-year old son Laith Mu'Min Moody are "a huge part of my life and will be so here at the College of Medicine." She knows that balancing home life and a rigorous academic regimen won't be easy but says the scholarship support she's receiving through the Deborah I. Rawson Endowed Scholarship will ease the burden. "Some of the financial support I'm receiving can only be used for tuition and fees, but Dr. Rawson's scholarship will be a big help with basic living expenses like food, clothing, child care. It helps a bunch."

Dr. Burnett S. Rawson '37, MD'39, is a retired physician, now in his 90s, living in Essex Junction, Vermont. Dr. Rawson and his late wife, Jessie, established the Deborah I. Rawson Endowed Scholarship to honor the memory of their only child, who died early in her adult life and believed strongly in the importance of cultural diversity. "My wife and I felt that more diversity in the medical college class was very important," says Dr. Rawson. "I do think the University is progressing more in that way than it did in my day, and that's good. But there's always more that needs to be done."

A diverse student body, he says, affects the entire community by broadening perspectives and creating cross-cultural awareness — especially desirable outcomes in Vermont, which he notes "tends to be a little provincial."

"It makes me feel good," says Dr. Rawson of his philanthropy, which has also included generous gifts to the Fleming Museum over the years. "It all adds up over time, and I hope that it's making a difference."

Asya says she and Nate, an artist, professional house painter, and former Peace Corps volunteer in Tanzania, are raising their son to be conscious of his impact on the environment and others. "We teach him to share with others and to give as much as is comfortable," she says, "I believe Dr. Rawson's gifts to the school and to me are a great lesson in generosity and the cycle of giving."

Looking to the future, Asya says right now she's interested in pursuing something surgical, but "I want to keep my options open. The more I learn, I'm finding that the field of medicine is limitless." At some point, she says she might like to get involved with Doctors Without Borders and contribute to improving accessibility to the health care among people in the developing nations. "I want to see where my abilities and my heart take me."