While visiting the University of Virginia School of Medicine after completing her undergraduate studies, Busola Shifatu saw herself in some of the UVA students that she met with, especially fellow Black women on their way to becoming doctors.
“During the interviews, I was paired with a fourth-year medical student who was also a Black woman, and got to hear about her experience,” said Shifatu, who grew up in Lagos, Nigeria, before attending DePauw University in Indiana.
“I loved seeing her interact with her friends, and this amazing, diverse group,” she said.
Once she enrolled, Shifatu knew she wanted to build on that legacy and help students of any background feel at home at UVA. She joined the UVA Student National Medical Association, focused on increasing minority representation in medicine, and, in her fourth year, became a co-president of qMD, the School of Medicine’s LGBTQ+ student group.
“One of the reasons I applied to be president was that, while everyone was really friendly and welcoming at the meetings I went to my first three years, I always felt a little out of place because I was often one of a few people of color in those spaces,” she said. “I just wanted to be visible, as a person of color, so that other people could see themselves there, too.”
Shifatu has worked on numerous initiatives in her time leading qMD, including bringing in virtual speakers to talk about their experiences in medicine and developing an OUTlist and ALLYlist that helps students and prospective students easily find classmates, faculty and staff who identify as LGBTQ or work to support LGBTQ students.
“That is something I am really proud of, and I hope people who are considering coming here will see those lists and know that there is a community here for them,” Shifatu said.
