Alumni provide program experience in Brody Scholar selection
When the 2024 East Carolina University Brody Scholars and Fellows are announced in August, they will join the ranks of more than 150 medical school scholars who have shown high scholarship, leadership, service, moral character and a promise of distinction in medicine. They’ll also become members of a tight-knit Brody Scholars family, who, in part, helped select the newest members.
The Brody Scholars program provides full tuition and fees and most living expenses for four years of medical school, allowing scholars to choose a medical specialty without the worry of debt after graduation. The scholarship also funds enrichment opportunities such as travel abroad and service projects. Brody Fellows receive $10,000 annually toward tuition and fees.
East Carolina University fourth-year medical student and Brody Scholar Kayla Mayes, along with alumni Chris Taylor and Marty Williams, served on this year’s Brody Scholar selection committee. (ECU photos by George Crocker)
Five current and former Brody Scholars served on this year’s selection committee and met with 12 applicants invited to interview for the scholarship. For the scholars, serving on the selection committee is part of paying forward the gifts the program gave to them.
Marty Williams was selected in the second class of Brody Scholars in 1989. Being a Brody Scholar changed his life’s trajectory. As a first-generation college student, the opportunity of the scholarship removed a burden for his family.
“The fact that the Brody family and the medical school invested so much in me has fueled my desire to be of service to other folks,” Williams said. “The Brody scholarship is the biggest vote of confidence you can receive coming into med school.”
Williams has participated on the selection committee for more than 15 years. He believes it is important for the scholarship applicants to see how Brody Scholar alumni have turned out and what they’re like years down the road.
Williams’ connection with the Brody family and the medical school is deeper this year than ever. He recalled his full-circle experience of shopping for his daughter’s baby clothes in Brody’s department stores years ago. His daughter, Ellen Williams, will join him this year as a Brody School of Medicine graduate.
A family within a family
Chris Taylor describes Brody Scholarship alumni as a family within a family. Incoming scholars add to the support system and fellowship they have with one another.
“It’s been amazing over the last years to see the support they have and really how they truly love one another,” Taylor said. “I think that’s what the Brody family wanted out of this medical school, and it’s been embodied in the Brody Scholars program.”
Taylor said choosing the next cohort of scholars is a difficult task because the candidates are impressive.
“It’s amazing and fun to see all the tremendous things they have done that’s led them to this point,” Taylor said. “Looking at the characteristics that help us make the decision, we like to see those who have compassion, a willingness to reach out to the community, and a desire to serve the population of eastern North Carolina or the area they are from.”
Kayla Mayes served on the selection committee for the first time and closely identified with the applicants. She is a fourth-year medical student and a Brody Scholar. Mayes remembers being in their shoes and going through the interview and decision process. She believes being a current student and scholar provides unique insight into selecting future scholars.
“We know what it’s like to be in medical school, at Brody, right now,” Mayes said. “We’ve been through the curriculum, and we’ve had an impact on shaping the environment that may look different now than even when we started school.”
Mayes has experienced the support of the Brody Scholar alumni family and the camaraderie created within the group through program activities such as book discussions and service projects. Because of the opportunities provided to her through the Brody program, Mayes said she is able to begin providing that same support to incoming scholars.