This PV Grad aims to bring care to underserved communities

PRAIRIE VIEW, Texas (May 14, 2025) - Prairie View A&M University senior Shantal Taylor has seen the importance of access to care firsthand.

Her mother and grandmother both have varicose veins, but while her mother, who received timely care, maintains her mobility, her grandmother is no longer able to walk.

"Due to the lack of immediate care, many times these diseases have health consequences that would not typically occur elsewhere," said Taylor, set to earn a B.S. in chemistry with a biomedical concentration and minor in biology this spring.

Born in Brenham, Texas, Taylor was raised in Clarendon, near the border of St. Catherine, where she witnessed the daily realities of limited health care resources. Both her parents are Prairie View A&M alumni, holding master's degrees from the University.

From an early age, Taylor knew she wanted to become a community physician.

"I saw people in my community suffer from minor health issues because there was no doctor nearby," said the 22-year-old. "When I finally realized how just having access to a doctor as a child in the Caribbean changed lives, I began to work hard to become a doctor for my community."

Still, migrating to the U.S. at age 18 to begin university meant, in some ways, she felt she was starting from scratch.

"I struggled to have my high school education recognized as equal to those around me," Taylor said. "I felt as though I had started 10 steps behind my peers, and despite running toward them, they were too far for me to catch up. My doubts grew louder and louder as I wondered: Do I have a place here at this school, in this country? I felt like I was starting from zero."

"During her first year at the University, Taylor said she felt "10 steps behind" her peers because it was comparing apples and oranges, trying to draw comparisons between her education and experience, as well as the scoring system, in the Caribbean versus the States."

"This wasn't due to a lack of intellect or knowledge, but rather because I had lacked many opportunities to showcase my expertise beyond exams and assignments," she said.

But remembering her community back home full of patients without proper access to care, Taylor said she persevered: "If everyone walked 10 steps daily, I ran 20 to catch up."

Today, she's in the PVAMU Honors Program, president of Green Chemistry, and president of Panthers Promoting Healthy Decisions, set to graduate this May with a GPA of 3.97.

Next, she is headed to Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine to join its Class of 2029.

She is thankful for how Prairie View A&M has prepared her, crediting her time at Texas Undergraduate Medical Academy and mentors like her supervisor, Dr. Selamawit Woldesenbet, whom she calls "the first person in the academic space" to believe in her and give her the space to prove herself and grow.

Taylor brings with her a strong foundation, having interned broadly, from local EMS teams to working alongside a pathologist with the Royal Cayman Islands Police.

"Ultimately, I aim to become a physician-scientist specializing in primary care (internal or family medicine) and researching infectious diseases prominent in tropical climates," Taylor said. "As a Caribbean American, I aim to ensure my career serves and benefits both communities I identify with."

Click here to view a complete listing of this semester's notable graduates.

By Christine Won

-PVAMU-