Medical student envisions future in medicine close to her Hispanic roots
Natalia Sutherland found out she was awarded a scholarship to attend the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in a memorable way. It happened on an ordinary day in the spring of 2018, and Sutherland was working on the computer in a research lab at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC.
Earlier in the day, she learned she had been accepted into the medical school, but little did she know her great day was going to get even better.
Envision a Publisher’s Clearinghouse moment.
“I was already on cloud nine,” Sutherland said. “I looked up from the computer, and I see members of the school’s admissions team walking toward me. I really wasn’t sure what was going on.”
The surprise visitors asked Sutherland to step out into the hallway and handed her a letter offering her the Morgan Dana Harrington Memorial Scholarship.
“I was completely overwhelmed,” she said. “It was the epitome of what I’ve come to know as a welcoming environment here.”
The scholarship is given by Dan and Gil Harrington and is named in honor of the daughter they lost in a 2009 murder. Dan Harrington is vice chair of the VTC School of Medicine where Morgan did an internship the summer before her death. The scholarship helps offset expenses for a deserving student who is a member of an underrepresented population at the school or who demonstrates financial need.
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