Education

Opportunities to Attend Medical School Free in Cuba

Published

10 years ago

November 18, 2014

Representatives were recruiting for the Latin American School of Medicine, or Escuela Latinoamericana de Medicina (ELAM) in East Oakland this past weekend, offering students between the ages of 18-24 a chance to study medicine in Cuba without charge.

This is good news for potential medical students, as average tuition for medical school in the US ranges from $31,000 to $52,000 per year.

To raise awareness about the medical school program and other medical careers options, Oakland’s Purple Heart Patient Center sponsored that seminar at Youth Uprising in East Oakland on Saturday.

Kim Scott of the Bay Area Black Nurses Association spoke about different nursing opportunities that are available right here

Bay Area ressidents attended a seminar last Saturday to learn about medical career opportunities, including the Latin American School of Medicine in Cuba. Photo by Nik Zelinski.

at home. Scott urged attendees to end health disparity and said, “Health care providers should reflect the community.”

According to Scott, whites and Asians in recent statistics made up 85.8 percent of the Registered Nurse workforce in California in 2004. Latino made up 32.5 percent of the California population, yet only accounted for 6.3 percent of the RN workforce.

African Americans composed 6.5 percent of total population, and 3.8 percent of RNs, said Scott.

Dr. Melissa Barber, program coordinator of the Interreligious Foundation of Community Organization, described the ELAM campus in Cuba – the lifestyle, and educational standards.

To best sum up her experience, Barber said, “80 percent of going to school in Cuba was about self-discovery, and 20 percent studying medicine.”

In an interview with the Post, Oakland native and ELAM graduate Maiti Rodriguez said she agrees with the sentiment.

Much of the experience centered on becoming accustomed to the language barrier and living conditions. Rodriguez did not speak Spanish before going to Cuba but quickly learned.

She graduated last July and has taken all US medical licensing exams and has applied for residencies all across the western US.

Rodriguez said she would love to work in Oakland if possible, and added, “I’m interested in working with Spanish speaking populations and underserved populations; but that does not exist just here in Oakland, it exists all over California, and in other states. And I feel the need for doctors who are bilingual, willing to work with underserved population, and culturally sensitive are necessary everywhere.”

Rodriguez goes on, “So as much as I would love to be home, I would go anywhere I was accepted and needed.”

The school grew out of Cuban government response to devastation brought on by hurricanes Mitch and George in 1998.

Cuba’s leaders realized that if the poorest regions in the hemisphere were able to develop adequate healthcare infrastructures, they could save as many lives every year as had been lost in the hurricanes.

The Cubans offered full scholarships to enroll at LASM to young people from the nations affected by the hurricanes – on the sole condition that, once they graduated, they would return to their home countries and offer low-cost health services in their own underserved communities.

In 2001 the first US students were able to attend under the scholarship, as long as the promise to return home and practice medicine in underserved communities was maintained.

According to supporters of the program, the offer to US students was made because of Cuba’s recognition that millions in the US have little or no access to affordable health care and that many young people in the U.S. cannot study medicine because of the economic costs.

Students from communities of color and low-income communities are especially encouraged to apply to the program.

Enrollment dates for ELAM began Sept. 30^th and continue through the middle of March 2015. For more information, visit http://instituciones.sld.cu/elam/ or ifconews.org. For more about the Bay Area Black Nurses Association Inc., visit babna.org.

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Actor, Philanthropist Blair Underwood Visits Bay Area, Kicks Off Literacy Program in ‘New Oakland’ Initiative

These community activations were coordinated with the San Francisco-based non-profit program “Room to Read.” Ray said he is also donating his time to read and take pictures with students to encourage their engagement and to inspire them to read more. The inspirational book “Clifford Ray Saves the Day” highlights Clifford Ray’s true story of saving a dolphin.

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February 18, 2025

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Blair Underwood (left) and Barbara Lee (right). Courtesy photo.

By Paul Cobb
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The Post mentioned three weeks ago that a number of our local luminaries were coming together to support the “New Oakland” movement. As this current national administration continues to eliminate our “legacy” institutional policies and programs left and right, most communities find themselves beyond “frozen” in fear.

Well, esteemed actor, long-time Bay Area supporter, and philanthropist Blair Underwood returned to Oakland this week to speak with city leaders, community trust agents, students, the Oakland Post, and local celebrities alike to continue his “New Oakland” initiative.

This week, he kicked off his “Guess Who’s Coming to Read” literacy program in some of Oakland’s middle schools. Clifford Ray, who played the center position of the 1975 World Champion Golden State Warriors, donated close to 1,000 books. Ray’s fellow teammate Charles “The Hopper” Dudley also gave Converse sneakers to students.

Underwood also spent quality time with the Oakland Ballers ownership group and visited the amazing Raimondi Park West Oakland community revitalization site. In the 1996 TV film Soul of the Game, Underwood played the role of the legendary first Black Major League Baseball player Jackie Robinson and commended the Ballers owners.

“This group of sports enthusiasts/ philanthropists needs to be applauded for their human capital investment and their financial capital investment,” Underwood said. “Truly putting their money and passion to work,” Underwood said.

Underwood was also inspired by mayoral candidate Barbara Lee’s open-minded invitation to bring public-private partnership opportunities to Oakland.

Underwood said he wants to “reinforce the importance of ‘collaborative activism’ among those most marginalized by non-empathic leadership. We must ‘act out’ our discomfort with passionate intentions to create healthy change.”

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McClymonds High Names School Gym for Star Graduate, Basketball Legend Bill Russell

William “Bill” Felton Russell was born on Feb. 12, 1934, and died on July 31, 2022. He achieved fame as a U.S. professional basketball player who played center for the Boston Celtics of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1956 to 1969. He was the centerpiece of the Celtics dynasty that won 11 NBA championships during his 13-year career.

Published

3 weeks ago

February 18, 2025

Oakland Post

Bill Russell and Brian McGhee in McClymonds High School Gym, 2011. Photo courtesy of Brian McGhee.

By Ken Epstein

West Oakland’s McClymonds High School, “the School of Champions,” this week named the school’s gymnasium in honor of one of its most famous graduates, basketball legend Bill Russell (class of ’52).

Russell is widely known as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. In 2011, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civil honor, from President Barack Obama for Russell’s contributions to basketball and the Civil Rights Movement.

The McClymonds’ naming ceremony was held on Wednesday, the same day as Russell’s birthday. Oakland leader Bill Patterson, a longtime friend of Russell’s, was scheduled to cut the ribbon at the reopening of the gym, which had been closed for several months for renovation. Russell’s daughter Karen was scheduled to attend the ribbon cutting.

Russell’s name and signature are now printed on the gymnasium floor.

Patterson was working at DeFremery Park when he met Russell. “I befriended him as a boy and during his years at University of San Francisco” said Patterson. “We stayed friends for the rest of his life.”

Said McClymonds Principal Darielle Davis, herself a McClymonds graduate, “We are excited to honor Bill Russell for his sports accolades and because he broke color barriers. He is part of our legacy, and legacy is really important at McClymonds.”

Brian McGhee, community schools manager at McClymonds and former football player at UC Berkeley, said that Russell meant a lot to him and others at the school. “He was a beacon of light and hope for West Oakland,” he said. “He did a lot for sports and for civil rights.”

Starting in 2018, Ben “Coach” Tapscott worked with Patterson and other McClymonds grads, community members, and former coaches to encourage the Oakland Board of Education to endorse the naming of the school gym, which finally happened recently.

“We worked hard to make this happen,” said Tapscott. “He’s an important part of McClymond’s history, along with a lot of other famous graduates,” he said.

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Tony Thurmond Urges Educators to Stay Focused Amid Federal Funding Battle

In a statement and a letter to California’s local educational agencies (LEAs), Thurmond praised efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism and close achievement gaps, particularly for socioeconomically disadvantaged students. “Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Published

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February 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Tony Thurmond. Courtesy of Tony Thurmond’s Facebook page.

By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has urged educators to remain focused on student achievement following a court ruling that temporarily blocks the Trump administration from freezing federal funding for schools, health care, law enforcement, and disaster relief.

A U.S. District Court judge in Rhode Island issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) on Jan. 31, halting federal efforts to pause funding while a lawsuit led by California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 22 other state attorneys general moves forward. Thurmond, a declarant in the case, welcomed the decision and reassured educators that funding for critical school programs remains in place.

“Now is not the time to be distracted by external efforts to demean and divide,” Thurmond wrote. “Please continue to stay the course with local programs that are producing results. Our students need consistency, support, and community more than ever.”

Thurmond emphasized that state officials will continue advocating for stable funding to ensure schools can maintain and expand programs that help students succeed.