BOSTON – Helping a diverse group of students find their way in the sciences, Dr. Joan Reede has changed thousands of lives with the Biomedical Science Careers Program (BSCP).
The idea that would change lives
“It is all about identifying talent, nurturing that talent and then helping that talent achieve whatever they think success is,” Dr. Reede said.
Dr. Reede is a pediatrician and was inspired to start BSCP 33 years ago after attending a conference bringing students of color together to further their education.
“While at that conference, a young woman came up to me – she was from Roxbury Community College – and said ‘I did not know there were Black female physicians. I did not know that was possible.’ And in that moment, I realized: How do you become something you don’t even realize can happen?” Dr. Reede said.
Creating the dream is what BSCP does. Dr. Reede started the nonprofit organization in Boston in 1991. The purpose is to help young, talented individuals who lack the opportunity to unlock and fulfill their potential in biomedical science and other science-related careers. “I worked in a setting where people are saying, ‘We need more diversity; we need that talent in our settings.’ So the idea was how do we bring this talent together in a way …. with the people who say they want the talent,” Dr. Reede said.
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Bringing talent and the sciences together
BSCP impacts about 2,500 students a year. Beginning in high school, BSCP advocates, mentors and provides young students with the network, materials and resources they need to discover the career that’s right for them.
Leeza Santiago Millan was born in Puerto Rico. She said BSCP changed her trajectory, and she is now getting her Ph.D. at Harvard in the biological biomedical science program. “BSCP also gave me my first access to Harvard. So, Harvard was very much an unachievable place for me, and when I entered through the conference, they kind of lowered those walls for me, and they allowed me to see someone with a low-income background can have Harvard as an achievable thing,” Millan said.
Thanks to BSCP, 21-year-old Ivy Branscomb has dreams of becoming an orthopedic surgeon. In Uganda, due to family circumstances, Branscomb had to miss an entire year of high school. “The BSCP has been hope for me. I actually wouldn’t have known where I would be right now if it wasn’t for BSCP because at that time … everything was so uncertain. I felt like I could have ended up like so many other kids like me who just end up lost,” she said.
Over the past 33 years, more than 16,000 students have been impacted by BSCP and Dr. Reede’s vision. “I was raised in a family where the values were God, family and purpose, and, for me, BSCP falls under purpose. How can what I do and how I use my gifts and live my life make it better for other people?” Dr. Reede said.
