Greenville, N.C. – Scholarships awarded to Brody School of Medicine students surpassed $1 million this year, easing the financial burden for aspiring physicians and reinforcing the school’s commitment to training doctors for rural and underserved communities, ECU Health announced today. The funding is expected to attract applicants dedicated to primary care in eastern North Carolina.
The ECU Health Foundation scholarship luncheon, held November 7, 2025, at Eastern AHEC, highlighted the impact of donor support on students like Emma Rayfield, Nia Hammett, and Emma McCollum, who received scholarships from Dr. Phillip Timmons. Brody School of Medicine students consistently maintain some of the lowest medical school debt in the nation-a critical factor in their career choices, according to Dean Michael waldrum. “Healthy rural communities need access to excellent physicians, and no one does that better than ECU,” Waldrum said.
The prestigious Brody Scholars programme remains central to this mission, welcoming three new fully-funded scholars in 2025: Alessio Fratarcangeli, Gage Outlaw, and Benjamin Woodard. Fratarcangeli, planning a career in pediatrics, expressed his gratitude, stating the scholarship is “something I will forever be thankful for.” Outlaw,interested in hematology/oncology or family medicine,shared his desire to “treat the people who raised me and shaped me into who I am today.”
ECU anticipates a record number of applications for the Class of 2030, signaling continued growth and evolution while remaining focused on its founding mission. Scholarships, coupled with state investment and community support, are vital to this transformation, Waldrum emphasized.
Individuals interested in supporting medical education at ECU can learn more at the ECU Health Foundation website.
