Illinois Medicine

'' When she was really tiny, she came over to visit me and she said she wanted to be a doctor. We believed her. We were just watching and waiting. '' personally—if it were not for the hardships that I encountered in my life." Even through T 26 | SPRING 2 010 troubled times, Porch was a good student, graduating from Whitney Young High School. After gradua- tion, she got her own apartment, working as a data programmer to save money for college. She moved to Arkansas to begin her undergraduate studies at Henderson State University—and moved back to Chicago when it got too expensive. She enrolled for a time at Chicago State University, then settled down at UIC, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa with a dual major, psychology and biological sciences. Porch's mother, Alma Porch, remembers her daughter as a rebellious child whose determination helped her achieve her edu- cational goals. "A lot of the things that I wanted to provide for her, I wasn't able to do. She wanted to be involved in a lot of after-school programs and the money just wasn't there for that," she says. "She thought I was stern, but I saw something in her that she would be successful." fearing relatives," says Zelma Martin, Porch's aunt. "I remember when she was really tiny, she came over to visit me and she said she wanted to be a doctor. We believed her. We were just watching and wait- ing." Family Portrait: Some of the more than 40 family members that came out for Ebone Porch's participation in the White Coat Ceremony. Porch says she is particularly touched that her grandfather (back row, second from left) and grandmother (seated in the front row, fourth from left) were able to attend; both have since passed away. Porch was particularly proud that her maternal grandparents, Eddie and Evia Tharbs, were able to see her on that stage. "My grandfather gave me many life les- sons. He taught me that I have to finish school, and to have a kind heart," Porch says. "When he was younger, there were not very many African Americans involved in medicine. He said he wanted to live to see me become a doctor." Porch's uncle, Robert Astone, a retired cardiologist in the Palm Springs, Calif., area, admits he was at first "dubious" when he heard his niece had set her sights on medical school. But once he saw her determination as an undergraduate, he encouraged her to go to medical school, and his wife, Barbara, kept in frequent contact. "Ebone's a unique young lady in a lot of ways," he says. "We'll do everything we can to help her achieve her dreams. And she will." Hoping to specialize in cardiovascular surgery or HE FANS OF THE UIC FORUM on August 15 were happier than any crowd in the seats for a basketball game or concert. As the members of the College of Medicine's Class of 2013 were officially welcomed into the field of medicine at the school's White Coat Cer- emony, friends and family members watched proudly. The students helped each other into their new medical coats and recited the 800-year-old Oath of Moses Maimonides. The 40-member cheering section for Eb- one Porch—or "Bo," as her family sometimes calls her—was about the biggest group in the crowd. And it was only appropriate that so many supporters were on hand, considering the role her family has played in her success. "One thing about Ebone is that she's got a lot of strong, God- neurosurgery, Porch has now begun her first year of classes. She's discovered that it seems like there are never enough hours in the day as a medical student. "I find it easier [to focus on medical classes] as opposed to taking a physics course or an English course. The amount of work we're doing is massive, though, and we're moving at a faster pace," Porch says, adding that she especially appreciates the challenge of her anatomy class taught by Norman Lieska, PhD. "He demands—I wouldn't say 'perfection'—but you really have to know everything for his class. I spend a lot of time studying for that." A few months after Porch's entry into the College of Medi- cine, her grandfather Eddie Tharbs passed away. But as she tackles the demands of her course work, she remembers the strength that he helped instill in her. "Any time he wanted to make sure I'd remem- ber something, he'd say, 'Bo, get your lesson,'" she says. "Now, every time I have problems in medical school, that voice always replays in my mind." PHOTO: STEVE BECKER

• Cover