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RUSM Alumni Association logo

The Alumni Association Scholarship is offered through the Empower Scholarship Fund, an organization established in 2000 to help keep education within reach by providing financial support in the form of scholarships to qualifying students at Adtalem Global Education institutions.

The Alumni Association Scholarship is one of the several ways the network of 15,000+ Ross Med alumni continue to support students and leave a growing legacy for future physicians. The scholarships are awarded to current students who have established a successful academic track record, passion for their education, and demonstrate outstanding leadership qualities.

The fundraiser included a fun twist that offered one winner from participants purchasing raffle tickets a four-night, five-day trip to Barbados to enjoy the island, indulge in some Caribbean fun, and visit the new Ross Med campus. Taz Brinkerhoff, MD ’19, was selected as the winner when the raffle closed.

Fundraising for the RUSM Alumni Association Scholarship

Taz Brinkerhoff

“I benefitted from a couple scholarships during my Ross Med journey. I wanted to be a part of providing the same benefit for someone else,” said Dr. Brinkerhoff.

Dr. Brinkerhoff is an Emergency Medicine Physician at Mount Graham Regional Medical Center in his home state of Arizona. He was at Ross Med while the campus was still located in Dominica and having only visited Barbados once before he was enrolled in medical school, there is much excitement to make his return trip sometime this Spring with his girlfriend, Sarah Zito, MD ’20. “I am looking forward to a relaxing catamaran and some sea turtle viewing,” he said. 

Thanks to Dr. Brinkerhoff’s generosity and that of many others from the alumni network, three scholarships will be awarded to help current students along their medical journey at Ross Med. “I am a later in life student and always had the dream of being a physician,” Dr. Brinkerhoff shared. Prior to Ross Med, he spent nine years working as a critical care nurse in the ICU and emergency helicopter transport unit and taught nursing at his local community college. While at Ross Med, he joined the campus Emergency Medical Services team. 

Students will be able to apply for the Alumni Association scholarships during Empower’s Spring and Fall 2023 application cycles. 

For more information on the Ross Med Alumni Association, read more here.

For more information about the Empower Scholarship Fund, visit their website

For information on other scholarships available at Ross Med, read more here.

In 2020, 91% of RUSM students passed the initial step of the United States Medical Licensing Examination® (USMLE®) on the first attempt. And in 2022-2023, results show yet another strong year for RUSM with a 97% first-time residency attainment rate* thus far. Located on the island of Barbados and with a network of more than 15,000 alumni, RUSM is one of the largest providers of doctors for the U.S. healthcare system. RUSM graduates practice in all 50 states and in Puerto Rico.

*First time residency attainment rate is the percent of students attaining a 2023-24 residency position out of all graduates or expected graduates in 2022-23 who were active applicants in the 2023 NRMP match or who attained a residency position outside the NRMP match.