Nancy Chen has dreamed of being a doctor for as long as she can remember.
“My best friend’s family gave me a birthday gift of a doctor’s toy kit,” Chen said. “And that really sparked my interest in medicine.”
A childhood toy turned into a lifelong mission. Chen is a first-generation American who grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina, working at her parent’s Chinese restaurant but dreaming of one day being in that white coat.
The oldest of four kids, Chen took on the role of a translator at a young age, helping her parents communicate with doctors during visits.
“I’m coming from a lower income background, so I know what it was like, as a patient in the hospital, trying to translate for my parents who didn’t have insurance,” said Chen. Chen said those early days translating for her parents is one of the reasons she wanted to go into the medical field.
“I want to be that physician that can just come in and alleviate the stress from the family and do my part in their healing journey,” she said.
Her dream became reality last year, when she was accepted to Johns Hopkins Medical School, her number one choice.
Her parents — who immigrated to the U.S. from China when they were teenagers — were filled with pride.
“For the past year, the first thing that came out of his [my dad’s] mouth is, ‘My daughter’s going to Hopkins Medical School,’” Chen said.But at close to $100,000 a year, the cost of her dream medical school would be taxing on Chen and her family. Then, she received her financial aid package — and posted this video of her reaction. She was thrilled that Johns Hopkins would cover about 80% of her tuition, but she’d still need to pay for tens of thousands of the expenses herself.
“I definitely still had to take out some student loans initially,” said Chen. “And that still kind of loomed over my head.”
Medical school is notoriously taxing — mentally, physically and emotionally. But one of the biggest stresses of all is not the tests, clinicals or rotations — it’s the financial burden.
In the U.S., the average total cost of medical school is $235,827, with 73% of medical school graduates leaving with educational debt.
But this week, for the majority of medical students at Johns Hopkins University — the cost just became zero.
Bloomberg Philanthropies donated $1 billion to the medical school — making education free for most current and future students.
This massive donation affects Chen and hundreds of other current and future students.
“Initially, when I read the email that was sent out, I thought it was fake,” said Chen.
Dr. Ted DeWeese, the dean of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine said he got goosebumps “truly, to watch what this will mean for so many families.”
“America needs doctors, and we need the best minds in medicine,” DeWeese said. “So this gift that Mike Bloomberg gave is going to help us find those students, those brilliant students, who might have otherwise not gone to medical school.”
Here’s how it works: 100% of tuition will be covered for families making less than $300,000 a year — that’s 95% of households in the country. For families making less than $175,000 a year, living expenses and other fees will also be covered.
With this Bloomberg donation, Chen won’t have to worry. All of her expenses are entirely paid for. She said when she first heard the news, she was shocked.
“I was with my mom at that time, and I just looked at her, and she was like, ‘What?’ and I was like, ‘I think I’m not gonna be in debt,’” said Chen.
Chen said this donation not only changed her life for the better — but will impact the medical field for generations to come.
“This opens up the opportunity for more people with different, diverse backgrounds such as myself, so that we can better help patients and just improve the quality of care that we can give to our patients,” Chen said.
Chen hopes her success story inspires others, including her three younger siblings, to dream big.
“I want them to hear my story and know that it’s possible to reach for the stars,” said Chen. “This was my star and I was able to reach it.”
And in a few years — when she’s Dr. Nancy Chen — she plans to be the physician her family needed.
“I just want to be able to know that I had, no matter how big of an impact on their lives, I really hope that it was a positive impact, and that they will continue to remember me as that,” said Chen.
All thanks to a gift — that truly keeps on giving.
