Meet the GoodRx Helps 2024 Students for Healthcare Equity Scholarship Recipients

GoodRx Helps has selected five winners for the 2024 Students for Healthcare Equity Scholarship.

GoodRx Helps believes that we need healthcare professionals who reflect the increasingly diverse U.S. population. They are essential to fostering culturally appropriate care, reducing health disparities, and improving the health and well-being of communities that have historically been left behind. 

We created the Students for Healthcare Equity Scholarship to help address these healthcare gaps. The scholarship provides financial assistance to healthcare students from underrepresented groups. To date, GoodRx Helps has granted $325,000 in scholarships to students dedicated to advocating for healthcare equity and access in their schools, communities, and beyond. 

This year, GoodRx Helps received 745 scholarship applications from 46 states. The 2024 program expanded the eligibility requirements from students in medical, pharmacy, and nursing programs to include any student working toward a healthcare or allied healthcare degree and licensure.

We asked applicants to share their insights and opinions on the state of healthcare today and how it’s changed in a postpandemic world. After a rigorous selection process, a panel consisting of healthcare professionals and GoodRx Helps representatives selected five winners. 

Each recipient will receive a $5,000 scholarship award, which is renewable for up to 3 years for a potential total award of $20,000 over 4 years. 

Get to know each of the scholarship winners below, including their academic pursuits and community and advocacy work.

Ruth Adeyemi

University of Florida College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health and Health Professions, pharmacist and public health practitioner candidate, class of 2026

Ruth is pursuing her PharmD and Master of Public Health at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy and College of Public Health and Health Professions. Her desire to pursue pharmacy stemmed from watching her late uncle compassionately approach pharmacy practices in Nigeria. 

While in pharmacy school, Ruth noticed a growing need. Pharmacists in Nigeria needed training in person-centered and compassionate care to improve patients' health outcomes, particularly in rural areas. That inspired Ruth to create The Compassionate Pharmacy Practice Project (TCPPP), a nonprofit with a mission to implement Good Pharmacy Practices (GPP) in Nigeria’s urban and rural areas. 

Since its inception and through Ruth’s grassroots outreach, TCPPP has trained over 500 Nigerian pharmacy students in GPP and compassionate care practices. 

“My journey in pharmacy is fueled by a deep commitment to improving health outcomes in underserved communities both here in the United States and in my home country, Nigeria,” said Ruth. 

She hopes to complete her studies and begin providing culturally appropriate healthcare to all patients regardless of socioeconomic status. 

Dreson Russell 

University of Alabama at Birmingham Marnix E. Heersink School of Medicine, physician candidate, class of 2028

A first-year medical student, Dreson’s passion lies in student advocacy. He is the cofounder and executive director of Project EMS, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering underresourced students from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. The organization’s goal is to enable these students to achieve academic success. 

Project EMS focuses on mentoring workshops, scholarships, and professional skills development. To date, it’s had a profound and positive influence on the lives of 6,487 students. 

“I want to express my sincere gratitude to the [GoodRx Helps] committee for awarding me this scholarship. Your belief in my potential has ignited my motivation,” said Dreson. “I am driven to create a transformative impact on the world, ensuring that every individual has the opportunity to thrive regardless of their circumstances.”

Alejandra Avitia Sanchez

University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, physician associate candidate, class of 2025

A student from the border town of Mexicali, Mexico, Alejandra’s lack of educational resources growing up prompted her and her siblings to wait in a daily 2-hour line to cross the border into the U.S. for a better education. 

Now, she is in her last year of medical school, pursuing a master’s degree to become a physician associate (PA). Living in Mexicali while going to school in California gave her the unique opportunity to live in two countries and adapt to two different cultures. 

“I have learned that a community split between two countries is a recipe for multifaceted healthcare inequities,” she said.

As a PA, she hopes to fight against those inequities, provide in-language and culturally responsive care, and increase mental health awareness to patients in underserved communities.

Zubaer Mohiuddin

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, hospital administrator candidate, class of 2026

A recent graduate from Cornell University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in biological sciences, Zubaer has always been committed to community advocacy and service. As an undergraduate, he spent two summers as a special education paraeducator in his hometown. 

“It was a wonderful opportunity to be able to work with these young students with disabilities from underprivileged backgrounds. It really motivated me to want to go into the field of public health,” he said.

He has also volunteered with multiple health organizations and community health clinics. In doing so, he has worked closely with healthcare leadership to expand community engagement initiatives and work with industry leaders from diverse health sectors to implement equitable healthcare practices. 

Zubaer continues to advocate for equity in medical services and is working to help eliminate barriers that prevent marginalized communities from receiving the care they deserve. He hopes to address these disparities by providing culturally relevant care to underrepresented groups through effective communication with healthcare professionals and offering non-English health language services.

Frieda Bequeaith

Yale University School of Nursing, nurse practitioner candidate, class of 2025

Frieda is a nurse practitioner graduate student with a dual focus on certified nurse midwifery and women’s health. They are enrolled in the program’s gender and health justice concentration, which focuses on LGBTQ+ health disparities through additional coursework and clinical experience. 

Upon receiving their bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Evergreen State College in 2017, Frieda began their career in healthcare as a full-spectrum doula and sexual health educator. Working with a community doula program in the Midwest, Frieda provided free services to low-income pregnant people while also training and mentoring new doulas. 

Frieda believes in a holistic approach to healthcare and that every person deserves to have their pregnancy experience supported. Over the past 10 years, they have advocated for patients’ informed consent practices and expanded reproductive care.

These students represent the next generation of healthcare leaders. GoodRx Helps is proud to support their educational and professional development. We continue to be committed to listening, fostering, and investing in future healthcare trailblazers through our scholarship program. 

“We are honored to support these students and emerging leaders who are dedicated to caring for and representing marginalized groups through equitable healthcare practices,” said Elizabeth Davis, GoodRx Helps president. “We can’t wait to see how they continue to make a difference at their academic and professional institutions.” 

Support our work and future scholarship recipients by donating to GoodRx Helps at goodrxhelps.org.