School was a second home to me,” says Dr. Sayed. “I was comfortable and felt totally supported. It was a great fit.” Although medical school was rigorous and challenging, and while studying there she experienced the death of her aunt and ongoing illness of her father, she did not become discouraged. “I am proud of my struggle because it made me the physician I am today,” Dr. Sayed says. During her time at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, she also taught in BCP. “You can’t forget where you came from,” Dr. Sayed shares. “I wanted to give back to the next generation and show that they can have a similar, or even better, experience.” In addition, she founded a Youth Science Enrichment Program and Health Professions Recruitment Exposure Program at the medical school: mentoring initiatives, still active today, that encourage underrepresented minority elementary, middle school, and high school students to pursue a career in the health professions. For this, Dr. Sayed was honored by the Student National Medical Association Chapter at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in 2016. “Recently, I learned that one of the students from the program is now finishing college at Princeton and is part of BCP,” says Dr. Sayed. “I feel humbled that the program I started helped with this individual’s path to medicine.” Dr. Khan notes, “I still call Huda and ask her to speak with students here at the medical school who are struggling. She never says no. She is a person who gives and gives. Even as a busy student herself, managing coursework and family illness, Huda dedicated her time to mentoring students.” After graduation, Dr. Sayed completed an internal medicine residency at Cooper University Hospital in Camden, followed by a hospice and palliative medicine fellowship, also at Cooper. She chose end-of-life care because of her experience with her aunt’s death. In September 2016, Dr. Sayed joined Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta as an assistant professor of medicine and attending physician at Grady Memorial Hospital, focusing on end-of-life and palliative care. “I was attracted to Grady Hospital because its urban demographic is similar to Camden. I have always enjoyed working with the forgotten population and advocating on their behalf,” Dr. Sayed says. Dr. Khan remembers the sentiments from Dr. Sayed’s Camden peers when she moved to Atlanta: “Camden did not —Continued on page 46 COURTESY OF HUDA SAYED, MD ’11 Robert Wood Johnson I MEDICINE 39