Diverse Class of 2021 Poised to Address Health Disparities
Kelechi Nwachuku, MD '21
Graduating during a year rocked by a pandemic and social inequity, UCSF School of Medicine’s class of 2021 is ready to make a difference in their communities and advocate for equality and justice in the health care system. More than one-third of the class of 2021 are from groups that are underrepresented in medicine, 27 percent are the first in their families to earn a college diploma, and they speak more than a dozen languages.
Kelechi Nwachuku, MD, was selected by his fellow graduates to speak at the commencement ceremony. Dr. Nwachuku, whose family hails from Nigeria, and who was brought up in South Central LA, described the brokenness and inequity in the community in which he was raised. “When I was younger, a grade school I was attending was abruptly shut down due to a lack of resources, forcing me to relocate at the drop of a dime.”