Product of Foster Care System Accepted at Nine Different Medical Schools

Festus Ohan was removed from the care of his mother at the age of 5. When he was 13, his father abandoned him and one of his two sisters. He was placed in foster care. During his high school years, Ohan stayed in multiple foster homes and attended several schools. Only 2 percent of children placed in foster homes earn degrees from four-year colleges but Ohan beat the odds and is graduating this spring from the University of California, Riverside with a degree in neuroscience.

Not only did Ohan graduate, he excelled. He was accepted for admission at nine different medical schools including ones at Columbia, Cornell, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California at San Francisco. But Ohan has decided to enroll at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. UCLA offered Ohan a David Geffen Medical Scholarship which provides for full tuition, room and board, and a stipend for living expenses, books, and other supplies. UCLA was the only one of the nine medical schools to offer Ohan this level of financial support and this was a major reason why he has chosen to enroll at UCLA.