Maui native Aileen Ferrer has wanted to become a doctor since high school, but after completing her undergraduate studies, she knew she needed some time off.
"I wasn't ready to take that next step. Academically, emotionally and mentally," Ferrer said.
Ten years — and two children — later, Ferrer is headed to the John A. Burns School of Medicine in the fall.
She’s one of six graduates in this year’s ʻImi Hoʻōla Post-Baccalaureate Program.
For over 50 years, the ʻImi Hoʻōla Program has helped college graduates from Hawaiʻi and the Pacific overcome academic and economic barriers to medical school.
"ʻImi has really just strengthened my foundation in the basic sciences, critical thinking, and understanding the physiology of the human body," Ferrer said.
"It has set me up with that foundation to be successful in medical school," she said.
ʻImi Hoʻōla is a year-long education program for aspiring doctors from under-served communities and disadvantaged backgrounds.
Participants receive a monthly stipend that allows them to focus on their studies. Once they finish the program, they're automatically accepted into medical school at JABSOM.
Winona Kaʻalouahi Lee, program director for ʻImi Hoʻōla, said its 300 participants have given back to their community over the years.
"Many of them are on the front lines in primary care [and] family medicine," she said.
Since 1973, the program has aimed to increase Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander representation in medicine.
For students like Ferrer, that commitment has had a real impact.
"There werenʻt a lot of doctors who looked like me growing up," Ferrer said.
"I think being able to give back to my community that way and being an example or role model to other young, Filipino females," she said.
