Midland County Medical Society awards scholarships to TCOM students
Recognizing the need to prepare the next generations of physicians, the Midland County Medical Society recently awarded two scholarships to students from the Texas College of Osteopathic Medicine at UNT Health Fort Worth.
Shaquila Sarapao and Marisol Tarin, both third-year students in the Primary Care Pathway Program, received the awards at the annual Viola M. Coleman, M.D., Memorial Scholarship Dinner.
“This scholarship is a tremendous help, not just financially, but emotionally as well,” Tarin said. “Medical school is incredibly expensive, and this award helps ease the burden so I can focus more on learning and giving back, rather than worrying about tuition and loan interest. Also, knowing that the Midland County Medical Society believes in me and supports my journey means so much. I want to serve the underserved, and this scholarship is one more step toward that goal.”
An avid sailor, DeShan said the name of the scholarship was inspired by the cross-staff, which is also known as Jacob’s staff, a tool once used by sailors and astronomers to determine the altitude of celestial bodies.
“I grew up sailing,” he said. “In college, I took a semester off and sailed a 44-foot sailboat, as part of a four-person crew from Florida, via the Panama Canal to Tonga, in the South Pacific. Sailing and navigation are in my blood.”
After completing his residency in 1990, DeShan and his wife wanted to return to the West Texas, which they consider home. He has practiced obstetric and gynecological care through Midland Women’s Clinic for years and became involved in the Primary Care Pathway Program in 2017. He is now the clinical site coordinator for students on rotation in Midland.
Midland is also home to Sarapao. Her family moved from the Philippines in 2004 to Midland when she was only 2 years old. Having spent most of her life in West Texas, she has seen firsthand the region’s need for more physicians. She said barriers to health care experienced by her family, neighbors and friends left a lasting impression.
“West Texas needs more providers,” she said.
Sarapao joined the Primary Care Pathway Program and is a part of the Rural Osteopathic Medical Education program at TCOM. Receiving the scholarship was a total surprise for her.
“I was so happy when I found out I was getting the scholarship,” Sarapao said. “At first, I was like ‘no way,’ but I received a text from Dr. DeShan congratulating me. It’s very hard to get a scholarship in medical school, and I’m very grateful to receive this.”
Sarapao previously served as vice president of TCOM’s Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association. She organized events on health disparities, cultural awareness and helped launch a national platform amplifying AAPI medical student voices surrounding mental health, advocacy and culture. She has also participated in mission trips to the Texas border and spent a week in Guatemala.
Tarin is also a part of the Primary Car Pathway Program and ROME program. She served as an osteopathic manipulative medicine teaching assistant and volunteered at the Cornerstone Clinic, a community health clinic in Fort Worth. Born and raised in Midland, she is a first-generation Hispanic student who has seen firsthand the need for more providers not just in the Permian Basin region, but all the rural communities in West Texas.
“Many rural areas lack enough physicians, especially those trained in comprehensive care or preventative medicine,” Tarin said. “This leads to gaps in follow-up, unmanaged chronic diseases and preventable complications. There’s also a strong need for providers who understand the unique cultural, geographic and economic challenges that rural residents face. In addition to that, access to mental health services and medications is often extremely limited. Rural medicine isn’t just about medical care, it’s about community engagement, resource awareness and creative problem-solving to help bridge those gaps.”
For both Sarapao and Tarin, Midland is home, and right now, their home needs help.
In 2023, Dr. Clarence Sparks became the first graduate of the Primary Care Pathway Program. The program has now graduated five physicians, with more on the way, including Sarapao and Tarin.
DeShan and the Midland County Medical Society recognize the important of not only training the next generation of physicians but also encouraging them to return and practice in their communities.
“I think these scholarships and the Primary Care Pathway Program are important in reducing the cost of medical education for the individual, keeping the students engaged with their local community, with the hopes of having them consider returning to West Texas once they finish residency,” DeShan said.