The frequent sound of pages being torn from doctors’ prescription pads and the growing lines in pharmacies is the reason why Tashawnna White, 19, is planning to change her major to pre-med.
Handing a patient a four-by-six piece of paper with scribbled handwriting is not always the answer, White said. Instead, finding the cause of the illness is what she intends to do.
“I feel that [prescribing] medicine is not the only way to fix a problem and becoming a pediatrician…maybe I can change some things,” White said.
White currently is a health science major wants to transfer to pre-med because her interest in humans and healthcare will help her explore and expand her quest in helping others.
Starting from high school, she has demonstrated her positive involvement in community service. She proudly talks about how she was recognized for that.
White was published in an annual book for an organization called Who’s Who Among American High School Students. The publication is one out of three that displays the names of students who have shown positive achievement throughout high school.
She said nominees are recognized for their superb grades, their involvement in extra-curricular activities and the difference they have within community service organizations.
“I thought that this experience was amazing….my hard work as a student was being shown and recognized. This was another thing to let me know that I was able to do anything that I want,” she said.
She continues to show her commitment in assisting organizations in her neighborhood by doing volunteer work at a few hospitals, community centers, a convalescent home and other service programs.
“I learned so many new things and it also gave me a different view of the medical working force. Every job…has a meaning and a special task,” White said.
White is the first one in her family to attend a four-year accredited university and she reached that milestone by following the moral values her family instilled in her.
“…I was taught that things are not handed to people on a silver platter but that they have to work if they want something. I have always worked hard to get the things that I want to achieve in life,” White said.
She said the decision to attend college was easy.
“I knew that I wanted to be more than what people expected me to be, so I made sure I went to college.”
Raised in a Christian home, her family stressed the point that they wanted her to be more successful than they ever were.
“…They always told me that education would lead to a better life,” White said.
After graduating from CSUN, White said she sees herself in New York at a medical school where she can study to become a pediatrician who finds other alternatives to helping sick kids.
She said pediatricians who often just prescribe medicine without trying to find out what causes illnesses in children, is something she has witnessed and experienced.
“Doctors need to run more tests instead of giving more medicine,” White said.
She added that sometimes she feels like the medicine that is prescribed only contributes to the problem and this is why she said making a change is vital to her.
