Mary Downar Patterson, a junior at Ozark Catholic Academy was one of 65 students from across the country selected for the program and the only Arkansan.
TONTITOWN, Ark — A local high school junior is preparing to travel overseas to get experience in the medical field.
Mary Downar Patterson, a junior at Ozark Catholic Academy in Tontitown, was one of 65 students from across the country selected for the FutureDocs Abroad Program in Athens, Greece.
“I love learning about the body, because, like, you’re gonna learn something new every day. Like, because medicine keeps changing,” said Patterson.
She participated in the Congress of Future Medicine which is a medical summer program in Boston and found out about the study abroad program there.
Patterson said she knew she wanted to be in the medical field for as long as she can remember. She said she has dreams of becoming a neuropsychologist.
“My dad actually passed away when I was seven from Parkinson’s, because at home, he had a traumatic brain injury after a fall. And so ever since then, I’ve been obsessed, like, I mean, obsessed with how like brain functions,” said Patterson.
She will travel to Greece over the summer for two weeks to observe surgeries, shadow physicians, and learn how medicine is practiced in another country. The program allows students to be hands on, unlike in the United States that has privacy laws that restrict students being in hospitals.
“I think it’ll show me real interactions between a doctor and a patient, so I can actually see that connection,” said Patterson. “I think it’ll show them that I actually know what I’m talking about, that I have passion and like compassion for this field that I want to go into.”
Patterson said she is the only Arkansan in the program. She even received recognition from U.S. Sen. John Boozman.
She said she’s hoping to stand out in the program and gain experience that will propel her towards college and eventually higher education
“It will show them that she wants to learn, and she can probably help me in the future with new ideas that she can bring to the table that maybe medicine hasn’t heard of, or help innovate and improve the medicines we already have,” said Patterson.
Currently, she’s fundraising to get to Greece, and practicing her Greek phrases.
“I also babysit. I mow lawns and I pet sit, and that’s how I’ve also been making the income. And, like, I just put it all away in like, a separate account, just like, leave it there for Greece,” said Patterson.
At the end of her time abroad. she’s hoping to feel confident in her future in the medical world.
“I want to feel more empowered and, like more just motivated to go, like, accomplish my goals of becoming either like a doctor or like a researcher in like, my said field,” said Patterson.