From Scholar to Physician: How ECGS Grants Support Future Doctors
BALTIMORE, MD (February 23, 2026)- Emerson Collective Graduate School Grants are now open until February 25, 2026, supporting college graduates who enroll in graduate school and choose to pursue fields in Law, STEM, Health, and Education.
From a young age, Kaila Holloway, College Track alumna and former College Track New Orleans scholar, knew she wanted to be a doctor. College Track further fueled that passion when she was able to travel to Uganda and Rwanda with the program and other student representatives from each site in 2014. This experience opened her eyes to the possibilities within medicine and helped to show her the type of career she wanted to have. She recalled, “I think the trip to Uganda and Rwanda was my first introduction to global health disparities, and it pushed me to pursue a dual MD/MPH degree.”
Today, Kaila is completing her Internal Medicine residency at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore, Maryland, after graduating from Louisiana State University (LSU) School of Medicine in 2023. Her trip to East Africa encouraged her to pursue other global health opportunities during her time in undergrad at Howard University. She conducted research and service trips to countries throughout Africa, and each trip furthered her desire to serve under-resourced communities through medicine. Now in Internal Medicine, a general medicine specialty focused on the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of adult diseases, Kaila helps to address barriers to care and improve health outcomes for patients most at risk.
Kaila’s educational journey has taken her from New Orleans to DC, and now Baltimore, spanning a total of 12 years: 4 years of undergraduate, 5 years of MD-MPH, followed by 3 years of residency training. After residency, she will complete a 3-year fellowship program in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at Duke University. She has committed herself to thriving academically, using her passion for helping others as a strong motivator in her education.
Kaila’s advice for College Track scholars and alumni pursuing a healthcare degree is thoughtful and intentional: understand the purpose of why you chose this field and use that as motivation when things get tough. Reflecting on her experience, pursuing medical school is “something you have to be passionate about because it’s going to be hard.” She added, “It’s going to challenge you,” but challenges don’t have the power to dim your light. She knows this to be true.
Her transition from Howard University to LSU was a culture shock. At LSU, the MD-MPH degree was a 5 year program, with the first 2 years being lecture-based, focused on the basic sciences. During her 3rd year, she completed the MPH portion of the program, and her passion for understanding and combating health disparities was reignited. In the final 2 years, she began her clinical rotations and got to work directly with patients in different specialties.
For Kaila, it wasn’t until her 3rd year that she felt her imposter syndrome improve, and during g her clinical rotations, she began seeing doctors and patients who looked like her, which made even more of a difference. Notably, the patients who resembled her also felt the sense of relief of seeing representation, making statements like, “I’m so glad that you’re here, “I’m glad I have someone who looks like me taking care of me,” and “I’m proud of you.”
These statements were encouraging. She remarked, “All those comments, they go so far, and it made it all worth it.”
The comments, along with the financial support she received through the Emerson Collective Graduate School Grant, made a huge difference in her path. When it comes to medical school, a notable barrier for under-resourced and first-generation students is the financial requirement. According to the Education Data Initiative, 73% of 2024 public medical school graduates graduated with student loan debt, compared to 67% of private graduates. Kaila is paving the path as an outlier. She has graduated from undergrad and medical school debt-free. Regarding medical school, she credits graduating debt-free in part due to the scholarships and grants she received, including the Emerson Collective Graduate School (ECGS) grant.
The beauty of the graduate school journey is that you don’t have to complete it alone. Our College Track alumni, like Kaila, are pursuing their passions in fields, knowing they have the support of ECGS grants. As Kaila prepares for her fellowship, she’s excited for what’s next: “I wouldn’t change it for the world. I love what I do and taking care of people.”
The educational journeys we embark on are worth pursuing. Ready to continue your journey with the support of ECGS grants? Apply here: https://app.smarterselect.com/programs/102893.
For more information, please visit the ECGS grants page, https://sites.google.com/collegetrack.org/ecgs2026/home.
¹ Education Data Initiative. “Medical School Student Loan Debt Statistics.” Accessed December 2026. https://educationdata.org/average-medical-school-debt