By Phyllis Boykin
Contributing Writer

 

GREENSBORO – When Marcia Lindsey entered Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School in 2009, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in the healthcare field. She had not decided upon a specific area where she would focus her energies, but her fondness for caring for others became the driving force behind her motivation to further investigate her available options.

Marcia recalled, “As a child, I loved Biology and always wanted to know more about the world around me, especially when it came to living organisms. I also had a knack for problem-solving and caring for others. This ultimately led me to pursue a career in medicine.”

Like numerous others, Marcia’s parents, Tyrone and Monya Lindsey, listened carefully to their daughter’s interests and extended to her their continuous love, guidance and full support. They encouraged her to “dream big” and to make her ambitions known to her teachers and administrators at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School, who they credit for helping to prepare their daughter for the rigors of higher education.

Her father is the former Executive Director of the Ahoskie Housing Authority.

With support and understanding by her parents of Marcia’s aspirations, collaborations between her parents, her teachers and Marcia prevailed, and ultimately resulted in her graduation from high school with Honors during the summer of 2013.

Marcia’s hard work and the vested interests of those she relied upon, both within and outside her immediate family, were rewarded again in August 2013, when she received formal notification of her admission to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, where she entered as a freshman.

Upon beginning her tenure at A&T, Marcia pursued the completion of her under-graduate college course requirements with the same enthusiasm, coupled with her   desires to learn and to excel, that had fostered her successful matriculation through high school.

According to Marcia, “I chose to attend North Carolina A&T because it is geared towards the success of students with very diverse backgrounds and futures. I opted to be educated in an environment where students are able to build incredible personal and professional relationships with their professors, administrators, fellow students, alumni, and others in order to access extremely unique opportunities and experiences.”

To no one’s surprise, Marcia successfully pursued a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and Pre-Medicine, which she received during A&T’s formal Commencement on May 13, 2017. She maintained recognition on the Dean’s List and graduated with Magna Cum Laude Honor status.

Likewise, Marcia was a Brody School of Medicine Early Assurance Scholar and a MERCK Scholar, and held memberships in the Lambda Delta Honor Society and the Beta Beta Beta Biological Honor Society, all to the delight of her devoted family, friends and mentors.

She describes her academic environment at A&T as “highly competitive” and proclaims, “I was pushed to reach my fullest potential as an under-gradute student and beyond.”

Marcia also realizes that she has the added advantage of having two devoted parents, who are both A&T Alumni. Together, they armed their eldest daughter with their combined knowledge, understanding and experiences required to help Marcia to expect success.

The Lindseys expressed being “proud, humbled and truly feel blessed by their daughter’s accomplishments” at their Alma Mater. Her drive to accomplish her goals serves as true motivation for the Lindsey’s three younger children, who all reside as a unified family in Raleigh.

Marcia’s dreams of pursuing a medical career continue to manifest and keep getting brighter. She was recently notified of her acceptance to Graduate School at Duke University in Durham, where she will begin pursuing her Master’s Degree in Bioethics and Science Policy effective, August 2017.