More than two in five US doctors will be old enough to retire in the next decade, and the pipeline of new doctors remains much like it did a generation ago, not as diverse as the overall population.

A 2020 report from the Association of American Medical Colleges underscores two persistent trends in medicine.

The nation's doctor shortage could worsen over the next 15 years, and Hispanic and African-American doctors fall short of reflecting the nation's diversity.

A local organization called Greeks' United has partnered with Harvard University to help change that percentage.

Today, we have with us students from the Lehigh Valley who attended Harvard University's Medical Summer program to learn more about potential careers in the field of medicine.

Joining me today on Courageous Conversations are Devin Dobson, co-founder of Greeks United, Entrepreneur and community activist, Stephan Wiltshire, high school administrator at the Executive Education Academy Charter School and co-founder of Greeks United, Tiffany Harris.

She's a Harvard University summer program scholarship recipient and a student at the Executive Academy Charter School.

She's a junior there.

Zora Border-Perry, Harvard University Summer Program scholarship recipient as well.

She attends the Executive Charter School, and Pamela Najm, Harvard University's summer program scholar recipient.

These are amazing students.

Hello, I'm Pastor Phil Davis and welcome to Courageous Conversations.

We're back for another show to inspire, educate and inform our audience on controversial issues that plague our society while changing the narrative by highlighting the wonderful work that is happening in the minority community.

Sit tight and we'll be right back with Courageous Conversation.

Well, Devin and Stephan, thank you guys so much for being on the show today, so excited about the amazing things that you're doing to impact the lives of students in our community.

So let's start with Greece United, because we're going to be bringing the students on in a minute.

But let's talk about Greeks United.

How did it get started?

What was the vision behind the Greeks united?

- Sure.

So I'm originally from South Florida, and it's really a culmination of some of the experiences that I had growing up in that area.

You know, most of the teachers, pastors, the business owners or members of these fraternities and sororities and really poured into me as an individual and a lot of individuals in the community.

And so naturally, you know, my wife and I settled here in Pennsylvania.

I start to seek some of those folks out.

You know, I'm a part of the local chapter of Kappa PSI Fraternity Incorporated here at Lehigh University, the Kappa chapter, and so connected to a lot of Greeks in the community, but realized that we didn't really have a whole lot of cohesion.

You know, we didn't have a coalition or any real organization, if you will.

And so one of the first things that we were able to do was connect with a lot of the different fraternities and sororities.

And I do want to make a note.

It's not just the historically black fraternities and sororities.

It's multiple Greek organizations, including, you know, as my co-founder here, Prince Hall , Masons, known as Shriners.

And so it really is a collection of all of these different groups.

So think about it as an organization of organizations, if you will, so that when things happen in the community or when there's a need, we now have a large network of individuals who can come and support that need.

- That's cool.

I mean, that's pretty amazing when you think about it, being able to bring people together.

And so, on college campuses, many of times you would see, you know, the Alphas and the Qs, right.

And they're battling one another.

The Deltas and the...

But it's amazing that there's a level of cohesion, right, this level of working together.

How were you all able to... And I know that that's all college campus, right, as we're in our juvenile years, we grow up and become more mature.

But how were you able to bring these organizations together for the greater good?

- I think one of the things that we were able to do pretty early was kind of, you know, get into the thread of these mission-based organizations.

All of these organizations have a mandate for service.

So, for instance, in Kappa Alpha Psis, to inspire service in the public interest.

Every single one of those organizations has that mandate.

And so, really, that's what we talked about.

You know, listen, you are a part of this organization.

You represent whatever industry or vocation that you have because you ultimately want to be able to give back.

Here's a way for you to do so.

Yes, as a member of your organization, but then also as a part of a larger coalition.

And that's really what seemed to resonate with people as we were able to do some of our initial events, some of our college readiness tours and things of that nature.

- Excellent.

Excellent.

So, Stephan, how did the program with Harvard come about, because you don't you don't hear a lot of schools locally partnering with such a prestigious school.

So how did it come about and how did that partnership...?

- Yeah, I mean, as Devin mentioned, it takes a village and we took that village focus, bringing all the fraternities together, including Prince Hall masons, noble Shriners, came together and said, listen, we got to take the actual steps to move forward and help people in the community together.

So with that, one of our board members, his nephew actually applied to the same Harvard Med program and that village focus came into play and we put all the resources together and took action.

- That's amazing.

And the benefit, of course, is that students from this region get an opportunity to be exposed, right, to education at the highest levels of one of the most prestigious schools in the country in a field that many times, we are not engaging in anything in the STEM area, right - science, technology, engineering, mathematics.

So it becomes really important to expose them to this place.

Now, you play a dual role because you work at the Executive Education Charter Academy.

How do you believe that this experience has affected, because the guests that are here today go to your school, so how do you believe that it affected them and, you know, their experiences at the at the school?

We'll hear from them.

But from administrator's perspective... - Absolutely.

Yeah, I truly believe it made, it gave them the opportunity that was needed to see different things.

Many of our black and brown students, they really don't have that opportunity.

So it's our objective and our focus to make sure that that happens.

And I think they took it and ran with it to lack of a better word, for lack of a better term.

But they have literally took it upon themselves to maximize their potential and push through on everything that's been given to them.

- That's amazing.

When I think about the opportunities that are presented to students, something like this can be life-changing, right?

It's just entering into a space, right, with the high level of expectation and then the investment of faith and hope into them to say, you can do this.

It's not outside of your reach.

And many times we can't be what we don't see.

And so being able to get them in that environment had to be wonderful for you.

So how many of these students have gone through the program?

And, you know, what are your future hopes for this program and some of the other things that Greeks United are doing?

- Sure.

So our pillars are pretty simple.

We are here to educate the youth.

We want to make sure we can equip underserved populations and communities, and then, of course, ensure justice where injustice occurs.

And so we've actually had seven individuals go through the program.

What's really unique about this time in history, you know, you talk about those numbers that you read earlier about how there's such a deficit and, you know, underrepresented minorities who are in the medical field.

And because of the current pandemic, this program actually had to happen in a virtual setting which allowed us to expand the reach.

So we've actually had two individuals from Florida, from South Florida, my area.

We've also had our initial cohort and had someone from Delaware.

And then we've also had about four students now from the greater Lehigh Valley area.

So in two years, gone all across the country.

And there's some great opportunities for them not only to be able to do virtual in the future, but be able to go on campus as well.

And so some of the things that, you know, Greeks United does, we have college readiness tours and forums that allow to educate, you know, some of the parents on different ways to get through the admissions process.

How do you identify scholarships?

But then there's a lot of community based things that we do where we partner with local churches and other organizations, you know, really just to get the word out about things around financial literacy, about economic empowerment, as well as, you know, getting involved in some of the political landscape as well.

And so the easiest way to connect with us is to go to our website, where you can reach out to us directly, of course.

And, you know, one of the things that I think is important to note is our original applicant was about $3,000 short of getting what they needed to attend the program.

We were able to raise that in less than three weeks.

And so what we really want to be able to do is to secure more resources so that whether it's in a hybrid state, you know, virtually, or it's in person, we can make sure that more students and more, you know, different institutions are a part of the Greek United scholarship program and really, really have an impact on their youth because, I mean, I can't think of a better service interest than the future of the next generations.

- That's life changing.

It really is.

And when you think about the village that you mentioned, surrounding these young people and then those funds being raised, so it shows that there is a community that stands behind these type of opportunities.

And so often it's resources that prohibit our children from participating.

And many times families don't believe that they can.

How many college students have I asked, well, I mean, students, are you going to college?

And they're like, oh, I can't afford to go to college.

I say, you're talking to the wrong people.

And so an organization like yours, the both of yours, can really help to uplift and inspire and give kids the platform that is necessary.

What are your future hopes for Greeks United?

What do you hope to see?

- For me personally, reaching as many students as possible.

- Sure.

- And assisting families where need be.

Point blank, period.

That's our main objective.

And whatever it takes, utilizing the resources, coming together as a team, coming together as different fraternities and sororities, so on and so forth, that's the key component there.

- That's amazing.

That's amazing.

Well, we know that you all are going to do amazing things.

Again, that graphic is going to be up on the screen.

The website.

That'll be up on the screen.

We really are excited about the work that you all are doing.

We want to hear from some of these students.

You guys are great.

We want to hear from the kids.

Yeah.

We're going to we're going to cut to some of their videos that they did and then we'll be back with the students.

So thank you once again, Devin.

Thank you, Stephan, for taking the time to be with us this morning.

- We appreciate it.

- Hi, my name is Tiffany Harris.

- Hi.

Zora Border-Perry and I'm a sophomore at Executive Education Academy Charter School.

- Hello, my name is Pamela Najm, and this is my application for the Harvard Medical Science program.

- The Harvard Medical School Summer program will definitely benefit me in the future.

- First and foremost, I've always wanted to pursue a career in the medical field.

- I think this program will be beneficial for me because I have a long term goal of becoming a psychiatrist.

- I've always wanted to become an anesthesiologist.

And I think that is a really, really great opportunity to understand a little bit more about the medical field.

- I learn strictly through hands on experiences.

So the hands on clinical experience is something that I'm really looking forward to.

- This program will allow me to think on my feet, think critically, think outside the box and be pugnacious.

- I think that this will help me collaborate with others.

- I plan to share everything I learn at this program so I could benefit my peers here at Executive who also want to become medical professionals.

- And it will just be an amazing opportunity to experience all the different types of medical careers that this program has to offer.

Thank you.

- Well, we're so excited to have these wonderful, amazing students from the Executive Education Academy Charter School.

And you've all attended this Harvard Medical Summer program.

And so we have Zora, we have Tiffany and we have Pamela.

All three of you, welcome to the show.

Thank you all for coming.

So I want to begin with you.

We saw your video.

Very nice.

Very good work.

You got accepted into the program, but you mentioned in there that you're interested in the field of psychology.

Can you talk a little bit about why you're interested in psychology and did the program sway you at all?

- So I'm interested in psychology just because it's always been something that I've been personally connected to.

And I really love my psychiatrist.

I'm very close friends with her whenever we meet.

So the program didn't exactly sway me towards medicine, but I do plan on going into the medical field, whether it will be like optometry or the way going to medical school, going to ophthalmology.

And I still plan to study psychology in college, maybe like neuroscience, doing psychology and science.

But I definitely want to.

- That's amazing.

That's amazing.

And what year are you in at the school?

- I'm in my junior year.

- Junior year.

So you're looking at colleges and schools beyond the charter school.

Awesome.

OK, so, Pamela, tell me about yourself and tell me what path you're going to walk and what was your experience like being at Harvard?

- OK, so during my Harvard experience, I really enjoyed it.

I want to become, I aspire to become a dermatologist.

- OK, - I always had like this... ..deep connection to help others.

And ever since I was a little girl, like normally the kids would run to like the toy section, I would run to the skin section.

Odd.

And also would like my little sister and stuff, I would pretend to like fake pop her pimples or like put face masks on her or like just treat people's skin and also being able to help somebody become confident in their skin and help them for something that they struggle with, I feel like I can personally connect with them because I relate to that, too.

I obviously had like struggles with like skin, acne or different skin disorders.

And I feel like that's interesting to build like that - deep connection on a personal level between me and my patients.

- Mm-hmm.

That's amazing.

I mean, just wanting to help people is a beautiful thing.

We don't find that in society anymore.

For people, it's all about what I can do for myself.

So, you know, being able to serve in that capacity, I think is going to be tremendous.

And I'm sure you'll do very well in that area.

So tell me about anesthesiology.

You've already told, I did kind of do a little cheating.

I talked to you guys beforehand, but talk to me about why anesthesiology and what do you feel that... How do you feel it's gonna impact your life and the lives of others?

- I feel that...

I just want to help people, like, not feel pain, because I know that surgery is very stressful and very scary.

So I just want to help people like, relax.

I'm also considering neurology.

I also want to diagnose people.

I feel like I just I really want to help people.

That's my goal.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

That's exciting, when you think about that, and each of you have this compassion for people, whether it's psychology, dermatology or anesthesiology or whatever the like.

Right, there is this there's this deep, abiding sincerity to want to help people.

How do you feel, Zora, that you attending this program has impacted the other kids or students at your school, because a lot of times when you aspire to do things, you can have a positive impact on people in your community.

How do you feel that that helped the kids, the students around you?

- I feel like it helped them like a lot.

I like to talk about my experience during the program.

I always sometimes bring it up during just random things.

I like to share what I learned.

And honestly, I probably want to share with more people, because I definitely think it can benefit more of the student body.

And I know there are other students that Executive who want to go into the medical field.

- And this is a program that you don't find at every school.

And administrators at the highest levels saying, we want you to engage, we want you to be a part of the program.

Were you nervous when you applied and did you think you were going to get into the program?

- Extremely.

I didn't think I was going to get into the program.

I just, actually being part of the program was very like experience, like it's a lot of experience.

It taught me emergency situations, how to how to treat different cases, diagnose other people, and just like the basics around, like what the medical field involves.

- Right.

Right.

And can you talk a little bit about what kind of things you did?

She said she shared some.

What was some of the things that you actually took away, that you learned while you were in the program?

- Um, well, it's very fast paced.

And I'm just, I feel that I need to prepare myself more for that because, like, it's just very fast.

And in the real situation, like we diagnose patients and in the real situation... - Really?

Diagnose patients?

- They were teachers.

- Yeah.

But still, I mean, that's... Yeah.

- We kind of like learned about certain systems in the body and then our case always related to that system, like our case for that day.

And so I feel like I just, for me, I just took away that I need to definitely work on being more comfortable in a fast paced environment since it is very fast paced and very scary.

So yeah.

- Imagine what an emergency room is like and people are coming and going and you've got to be really kind of quick on your feet to assess and know your craft and know your skill.

But you all are juniors in high school, which is amazing.

I wasn't thinking about this kind of stuff when I was in 11th grade.

This is a question for each of you.

Being from the minority community, how do you feel that, you know, when you heard earlier I talked about a very small percentage of doctors being from the minority community.

How do you feel in, let's say, psychology, as a psychologist, psychiatrist, as you continue to grow in your education and become a psychologist, how do you feel that your representation will be important to your community and the community that you serve?

- So I definitely feel like me, especially becoming a doctor, will definitely benefit my community because there is a stigma around mental health and psychology in our community.

And I want the kids or anyone who wants to become a psychologist or go into the medical field, just because there is not a huge percentage of African-American or black people in that medical field does not mean that there is not a place for them.

So I want them to see that, want them to see me and be like, she's there, I can do this.

- Yeah, that's good.

I mean, that's very, very powerful because the underrepresentation is real, when you think about that.

And then many times people from what they will say, marginalized communities don't have those opportunities afforded to them.

So the same question for you.

What do you think as it relates to being a minority and your representation in the field?

- Well, me being Middle Eastern, I'm from Lebanon.

There is not really... You don't see a lot of doctors in that area, especially in the area of dermatology, like the field of skin.

You don't see a lot of Middle Eastern pursuing that type of career.

And I feel like it would be very intriguing for me to pursue that career and inspire other Middle Easterns to want to become a doctor instead of, like, pursuing every day, like, regular job that wouldn't be considered successful.

- Yeah, that's great.

- You're kind of breaking the glass ceiling, right, and going against the tide.

That's wonderful.

How about yourself?

- Well, for me, I kind of I want to act as a role model to other Latinos and Latinas, because especially in anesthesiology there aren't many people of color at all.

It's really sad, but I want to be that role model for others.

- Mm-hmm.

And so being that role model means something to you.

Have there been... And we'll start with you, have there been role models in your life that have... Now, I happen to know your father.

I happen to know he's a doctor.

And I believe it was Princeton, was one of the schools that he graduated from.

So do you feel any pressure to... You already said, I'm going psychology.

I think this is my path.

But did you feel any pressure because of the path that your father worked in the area of medicine?

- Absolutely not.

But seeing him work in the medical field and then me kind of learning what I like in school and I'm very much a math and science person, the medical field, just fit perfectly for me.

While he is in the medical school range, like he went to medical school.

He's an emergency room physician.

I take the medical field differently.

I am more interested in optometry, psychology, dental and chiropractic.

So I think we take different paths.

He's definitely supported me through that and I felt no pressure whatsoever.

- That's good.

That's good.

Be your best you, right?

It's so important.

Who has been a role model in your life to kind of inspire you to continue down your educational path?

- I feel like it's God, honestly, God inspires me to want to help others.

I mean, he helps me, obviously, I pray every day.

- That's wonderful.

- My parents inspire me, my sister.

My teachers.

Just seeing people struggle makes me want to get out and help somebody else.

- That's amazing.

So it really does take a village and we find role models in people who we feel like are inspirational, but also can motivate us to go beyond the borders.

- Being able to save somebody's life, it's truly like a blessing.

It's just like that feeling of euphoria that you get when you help somebody and you can say like, oh, I'm the one that helped this person.

It just sticks with you.

- That's great.

That's great.

That's wonderful.

How about yourself?

Have there been role models in your life that that inspire you to kind of achieve the kind of things that you've been achieving and ultimately will achieve?

- Yeah, I think my mom is probably one of my biggest role models because she's always kind of like pushed me to have a better future than she was offered.

So I kind of want to, like, make her proud, but also, like, still making myself proud.

And I just I want to be happy and still, like, help other people.

That's kind of like... - That's good.

So a little bit of self but a little bit of others.

You know, there's a passage in scriptures that I always refer to, when they asked Jesus, like, what's the most important commandment?

And he breaks it down and simplifies Ten Commandments, makes it really one essentially.

Love God, love yourself and love people.

And if we could all take that mantra and utilize that to live our lives out, the world would be a better place.

It really it really would be.

So I'm going to ask you some questions that I asked some of the guests when we have a little bit of time.

What's the most the most courageous thing that you think that you have ever done?

Most courageous thing.

- Honestly?

I think it was when I helped the homeless of Lehigh Valley.

Because I struggle with anxiety, and I decided to make mats for the homeless because I saw a lot in the Lehigh Valley and I had a an adult friend who actually helped them.

So I think it took a lot of courage to go up to them and be like, I made this for you to sleep on.

And it's totally recycled.

I made it out of plastic bags, like I crocheted them, and they were extremely thankful.

But I was also nervous at the same time because I was like, would they want this?

But they absolutely love them.

And I will take that moment with me forever.

- That's amazing.

What about yourself?

Most courageous thing you've done?

- Well, I would say the most courageous thing that I've ever done was help the people of Lebanon.

I don't know if you've heard about the explosion that happened.

There was many petitions to, like, help and raise money for the people that had their damaged homes.

The health care was very expensive and especially now during Corona and Covid.

It's really expensive to just live there.

Like the bread over there, it's like $10 to buy.

So they don't have, like, the money just to stay safe and protect themselves.

So I feel like by raising money to help them and donate to Lebanon, that was probably the most courageous thing I've ever done.

- That's amazing.

That's amazing.

What about yourself?

That last question, what was the most courageous thing you've ever done?

- I think the most courageous thing I've ever done was for my tenth birthday.

I decided I didn't want presents and I wanted actually money so I could buy stuff and donate it to kids in need.

So that was kind of a big step for a ten-year-old who doesn't want to share.

- Absolutely.

I don't know, 30-year-olds that want to do that.

Yeah.

- So, yeah, I think that's the most courageous thing.

- Were they people in your community or were there just people that you knew about that were struggling?

- Um, no.

It was kind of just, it was a foundation.

I forgot what it was called, but we kind of just bought the socks, underwear and things like that and gave it to the company and they gave it to other people.

- Wonderful.

That amazing.

Well, I mean, with the world in your hands and the bright futures that you all bring to the fields that you will work in, and sometimes that changes.

You start on the path and you're like, wow, you get to college and you know, you're starting in one direction and then, you know, doors open.

The Lord opens another door for you.

Whatever your path is you're going to be you guys are going to do tremendous and amazing, amazing work.

You're going to change the world.

And I truly believe that.

So on behalf of everyone here at PBS39, I'm Pastor Phillip Davis.

Thank you to all of our guests and thank you to all of our viewers for taking the time to participate and be a part of Courageous Conversations.

Listen, keep being courageous.

We'll see you next week.