Growing up on Hawaiʻi Island, Mina Poppas couldn't wait to leave.
"I wanted to get as far away as I could," she said with a laugh.
The Waiākea High graduate headed about as far as she could go, to the University of Vermont, eager to experience something new. But the farther she traveled, the more she began to appreciate the place she once couldn't wait to leave.
"Coming back home, I realized what a unique place it is to grow up," Poppas said.
Poppas continued to put down roots at home by joining JABSOM’s Class of 2030.
She is also part of a milestone that took years to reach. With the Class of 2030, JABSOM students and graduates who accepted service commitment scholarships have now promised over 500 years of physician service to Hawaiʻi's communities.
Poppas accepted the Kaiser Permanente Hawaiʻi Medical Student Scholarship. Making this commitment means she’ll be investing a minimum of four years in the place where she hopes to build her career.
"I think we go into medicine because we want to serve," she said. "To have a life purpose greater than yourself is extremely important and fulfilling."
Poppas is one of 21 new students to receive a service commitment scholarship. This scholarship helps pay for medical school in return for practicing medicine in Hawaiʻi after residency.
“JABSOM and generous donors started these scholarships only a few years ago, and each new class has added to the promise, bringing the total commitment from students and graduates to over 500 years of service,” said Kevin Kaneshiro, JABSOM Scholarship Director & Financial Aid Counselor.
This milestone comes at an important time. Hawaiʻi still faces a shortage of doctors, especially in rural areas and on neighbor islands, so every new physician plays a key role in strengthening the state’s healthcare workforce.
"More than 500 years of physician service is an extraordinary milestone, but it's really just the beginning,” said Sam Shomaker, JABSOM Dean. “Those scholarship commitments represent the minimum amount of care these future physicians will provide to Hawaiʻi. Many of our students were born and raised here, and they'll spend their careers caring for the communities that raised them, so in reality, we’re looking at generations of care.”
By accepting these scholarships, students make a long-term commitment before they even start medical school. Poppas admits this was not an easy choice.
"I'm more on the side of a free spirit," she said. "It's a little scary to commit."
But any doubts she had disappeared just a few days after she arrived on the Kakaʻako campus.
"Being here for three days has really solidified how amazing and what a privilege it is to practice medicine here," she said. “To be a part of a number as big as 500 years is incredible.”