Paging Dr. Ledet!
A former hospital security guard returned to his old job recently, as a medical student, Bossip reports.
Dr. Russell Ledet is a perfect example of hard work and dedication. After graduating high school, Ledet served in the Navy for two years before moving back to his native Louisiana to attend school at Southern University studying organic chemistry. While in college, Ledet worked security at Baton Rouge General Medical Center, making friends with many doctors and eventually reaching out to several to mentor him. One physician, Dr. Patrick Greiffenstein, the chief surgery resident, took the budding doctor under his wing, leading and guiding him through his studies.
Ledet received his Ph. D. in molecular oncology and tumor immunology from NYU and is currently working on his M.D. and MBA enrolled in a dual program at Tulane University. Now, Dr. Ledet, he has returned to his former job as a medical student during the middle of a global pandemic. The irony is not lost on Dr. Ledet, and he hopes that his story can serve as inspiration for others who are working hard to pursue their dreams.
We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.✨
In the background, an original slave quarter.
In the foreground, original descendants of slaves and medical students. #whatatimetobealive #yeahwecandoboth pic.twitter.com/INOUMmc1cx— R.J. Ledet, Ph.D. #The15WhiteCoats (@theguywithyes) December 14, 2019
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A husband and father, Ledet, uses his platform to bring awareness to his story, and so many others like it. In addition to his work in the field, he is also the President and manager of 15 White Coats, an organization of Black medical students from Tulane University who sponsor scholarships for their peers. The organization gained notoriety last year when they posed for a viral photo in front of the Whitney Plantation in Edgard, Louisiana adorned in their white coats, captioned, “We are our ancestors’ wildest dreams.”
“[Wearing the white coat] is the highest honor, especially coming from where I come from. It’s wild [because] I didn’t grow up thinking this was possible. This wasn’t even on the radar. When I joined the military, I thought that was kind of the best option for me to get out and here I am with a Ph.D. and soon to be an M.D. and an MBA. I’m really on the other side of a lot of this, and I have a lot of people to thank for it. But to be here, it’s heart jolting because I know there are kids who were like me as a kid who can’t fathom being in this place and [myself] and a whole bunch of others can be a beacon of light to be like, ‘it’s ok to dream to be here because we’re gonna be here to help you get here,’” Ledet told CBS news.
Congratulations, Dr. Ledet!
Photo Courtesy of Dr. Russell Ledet/GMA