Three generations of Upstate physicians — Sharon Brangman MD, who earned her degree at this medical school in 1981; Donna-Ann Thomas MD, who earned hers in 1999, and Nicole Sanders, who will graduate in 2014 — celebrated on Feb. 17 the 162^nd birthday of Sarah Loguen MD, an 1876 graduate of the medical school at Upstate and one of the nation‘s first African American female physicians.

Their goal was to honor Loguen‘s accomplishments by sharing the “heart and soul” of their personal journeys with an audience comprised primarily of students. Sanders, recipient of the 2011-2012 Loguen scholarship, spoke of the strength she draws from faculty members and staff who show genuine interest in her as a person.

Thomas encouraged the students to recognize opportunity. After high school, Thomas explained, she needed to work full-time to help support her family and was only able to attend college part time at night. A serious fall of 25 feet took her out of work but gave Thomas the chance to become a full-time college student. Thomas made straight As in science courses, and an attentive professor guided her to a pre-med student group. There, she developed a friendship with a medical student who took her to the anatomy lab at a nearby medical school. After college graduation, Thomas was accepted at two medical schools. The SUNY tuition tipped the scales in favor of Upstate, where she graduated in 1999, and returned as a faculty member in 2006.

Brangman, president of the American Geriatrics Society and chief of geriatric medicine at Upstate, confessed that she was terrified throughout medical school and is teased by her children about being a “nerd” who spent Friday nights studying in the library. When asked by a student for ideas on ways to give back to the community, Dr. Brangman had a one word answer: “Graduate.”

She continued, “Recognize that you will give up your 20s for medical school. Your job as a medical student is to be an information processing machine. Hold onto your desires to help others. Once you have graduated from medical school, and completed your residency, then it‘s time to remember where you came from, and give back to your community.”