斯科特是一名机械工程师，为一家知名的科学供应商和服务提供商设计和制作医疗设备的原型. 奥利维亚是一名从事神经病学工作的医生，乔希在一家大型医疗诊所的组织学部门工作. Blaide is at a life-sciences consultancy after having completed his Ph.D., 而卡森正在完成他的本科学业，并为在体育产业的职业生涯建立联系.

While each of these individuals has chosen a different career path, what all five share in common is that they are alumni of 博彩平台网址大全’s RARE Scholars program. Founded in 2018 to provide financial support to U.S. college students living with a rare genetic condition – now including achondroplasia, 板条疾病, A型血友病, 粘多糖病(MPS)和苯丙酮尿症(PKU) - RARE学者获得了100多美元的奖金,000 in scholarships to 22 students.

As the application window for the 2024-25 program comes to a close April 5, we caught up with Scott, 卡森, 奥利维亚, 让杰克和Blaide了解更多关于他们正在做的事情，并询问稀有学者项目是如何帮助他们实现职业目标的.

Scott Cavanagh Brings Firsthand Experience to Designing Medical Devices

斯科特于2022年在华盛顿大学完成了机械工程专业的学习. 他现在正在赛默飞世尔科技公司(Thermo Fisher Scientific)担任机械工程师，从事早期原型设计和产品设计.

斯科特说，患有一种被称为Morquio a (MPS IVA)的粘多糖病，多年来在医院度过了大量时间，这激发了他设计更多病人友好型医疗设备的灵感.

“成长, I was able to see firsthand where medical devices could be improved on the patient end,他说. “With this unique background, I hope to be able to innovate upon medical devices.”

斯科特的空闲时间是做木工活，和朋友一起吃饭，遛狗. 他认为“稀有学者”项目帮助他在大学找到了立足点，并鼓励他追求自己的职业道路.

“稀有学者奖学金让我确信自己属于这样一所规模庞大的大学,斯科特说。. “它给我的支持让我自信地追求医疗技术的职业生涯, where I hope to give back to the rare disease community.”

卡森的厨师 Makes Strides Toward Career in Sports

卡森是唯一一位四次获得“稀有学者奖”的人，即将在圣地亚哥州立大学完成他的大四学业, where he has been studying journalism with minors in history and marketing.

Outside of the classroom, 他大学生涯中最精彩的部分就是在圣地亚哥州立大学男子篮球项目做志愿者, helping with the team’s social media and photography. 在过去的两个赛季里，他都有机会陪伴球队参加疯狂三月的比赛.

“能成为这样一个团队的一员，以一种大多数人都没有的方式成为学校的一员，真是太棒了,卡森说。, who is living with another form of mucopolysaccharidosis known as Hurler-Scheie (MPS I).

As he looks to the future, 卡森 hopes to stay in the industry and find a college sports program to call home, either as a full-time employee or a graduate assistant.

“奖学金给了我很大的帮助，让我能够专注于学业，追求我在体育行业工作的梦想,卡森说。. “By working in sports, I want to help show other people that it is possible to do what you love, no matter your size, 你的能力. If you really put your mind to it, you can do it.”

奥利维亚卡明斯 Turns Interest in Life 科学s into Career in Neurology

奥利维亚在印第安纳大学医学院的第一年就获得了奖学金. She has since gone on to receive an M.D. and is currently about halfway through a four-year neurology residency, also at the Indiana University School of Medicine.

“Certainly having PKU inspired my initial interest in life sciences,” 奥利维亚 says. “Neurology is an incredible field of localizing pathology. 我有机会对人们的生活产生重大影响，并在令人心碎的时刻陪伴在人们身边.”

奥利维亚 is currently planning a wedding and remains active in the PKU community, 有时间就参加研究，参加会议结交朋友，并有机会尝试新的低蛋白食物. 她回忆说，获得“稀有学者”奖让她觉得自己与社区的联系更加紧密.

“我感到非常幸运和荣幸能成为首批获得这项奖学金的少数人之一,她说。. “I see this award as a reflection not just of my success, 而是父母和老师倾注在我身上的善意和努力, from my PKU physician to the dietitians, 感谢所有为北大症候群的诊断和治疗标准做出贡献的科学家.”

杰克 Eckerman Embarks on Exciting and Challenging Career in Histology

杰克, a two-time scholarship recipient who is living with PKU, finished his college career a semester early last December, when he graduated with a B.S. 在生物学中. He’s now working in the histology department in a lab at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, 明尼苏达州, where he helps process human tissue samples. He began there as an intern before accepting a full-time role, and he plans to complete Mayo’s histotechnology program in 2025.

“I always knew I wanted to work in the medical field in some capacity, 实习让我接触了几个间接的病人护理领域，这确实有助于进一步引导我的兴趣,乔希说。. “实验室的环境使我能够在一个令人兴奋和具有挑战性的医学领域工作，并使我能够帮助他人.”

Outside of the lab, 乔希很喜欢搬到罗切斯特，一直在寻找新的地方远足和探索城市. 他指出，北大社区的博彩平台网址大全和其他人对他的教育和早期专业发展的支持意义重大.

“知道有人关心北京大学的学生，并采取措施以各种不同的方式帮助博彩平台网址大全，真是太棒了,他说.

Blaide Woodburn Finds Purpose in Helping Evaluate Impact of Genetic Medicines

Blaide在攻读博士学位期间两次获得了RARE学者项目的支持.D. 他是北卡罗来纳大学教堂山分校病毒学专业的教授，现在是波士顿L.E.K. 咨询, 他在哪里帮助生物制药和生物技术公司解决科学与商业交界的复杂问题.

他的工作包括支持公司评估基因药物对患有罕见疾病的人的潜在影响.

“我对科学的兴趣开始于想要了解我身体里发生了什么，后来发展成为对人类生物化学的迷恋, genetics and then life sciences in general,布莱德说。, who is living with PKU. “My work is intellectually stimulating, 但真正让我产生共鸣的是帮助推动患者社区影响的机会.”

工作之余, Blaide prioritizes health and fitness and is planning a 2025 wedding with his fiancé. He notes a couple important roles the RARE Scholars program played in his life.

“RARE Scholars帮助我减少了学生贷款债务，这样我就能更容易地获得更高的学位, 但更有意义的是，能得到一家为北大社区发挥如此重要作用的公司的认可,他说.

Learn more about the RARE Scholars program. Applications for the 2024-25 program are due April 5, 2024.