TYLER, Texas — In less than a month, students from the first-ever UT Tyler School of Medicine class will be starting their courses and one student said it’s a dream come true.
Justin Crow is an East Texas native and one of 40 accepted into UT Tyler School of Medicine.
Over the weekend, Crow and his classmates received their first white coats. Crow said with the white coat comes great responsibility and motivation.
"It's been a great honor to be chosen for the first class and it has the support from the community, and the support from the faculty and the staff, and even the other students has been massive," Crow said.
All 40 students received a full-ride scholarship thanks to monetary donations.
"It takes off a lot of the burden and the stress of going to med school. That financial burden can weigh on you. Now I don't work, and I just focus entirely on being a student as my job," Crow said.
To get to this moment, Crystal Bryce, associate dean of student affairs, said it’s been a year of planning, waiting and prepping. With 95% of the class being from East Texas, her hope is to keep these students in the area to provide healthcare for the local community.
"We're hopeful that we'll be able to keep a lot of them to do their residency is here. And then from there, stay, become physicians and become even more embedded in the community," Bryce said.
This first class of UT Tyler’s school of medicine is set to graduate in 2027.