ST. LOUIS — The Saint Louis University School of Medicine honored one of its soon-to-be graduates on Thursday for going above and beyond for the school, her classmates and the community.
April Lewis will be one of the first students from her Jennings High School class to become a doctor.
Lewis grew up in Jennings in a single-parent household. Her dream of becoming a doctor stems from her mother's pregnancy journey.
“She talked a lot about some of the mistrust that she had with some of the doctors or how she was dismissed and how she felt like she wasn't heard or no one was really advocating for her,” Lewis said.
That ignited a fire in Lewis to be the first in her family to go to college and become an OB-GYN so that no one would ever have to go through the pain that her mother did.
“That was the ultimate goal was to be able to advocate for women and just be able to deliver some beautiful babies and have wonderful birthing experiences for everyone that are memorable. That’s really important,” Lewis said.
Lewis went on to graduate from Spelman College in Atlanta and was led back home to medical school at Saint Louis University. During her time at SLU, she had the chance to be on the other side of the hospital bed as a volunteer doula.
“You got to see then how the nurses and the doctors interacted with the doulas and the pharmacists, and that was really good to see that multi-disciplinary approach," Lewis said. "And I think that is going to help bridge that disparity. We can make a more welcoming, holistic experience for the patient."
She said she wants to be part of the solution to save women’s lives, especially Black women, who are more likely to die during pregnancy or even one year after pregnancy in Missouri.
The School of Medicine honored Lewis on Thursday for all of her hard work and dedication with three awards ahead of graduation, where she'll add the title doctor before her name.
“We're just incredibly proud and grateful, and the community honestly is very lucky that we're getting to keep her here to continue to provide that care,” SLU Associate Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Adam Merando said.
Merando said she was a true leader during her time at SLU.
“She has been just a great asset to us here at SLU," Merando said. "She's been involved in everything from student interest groups, to our medical student government, to even becoming part of the executive board of our medical student government. And she's really been integral every step of the way in advocating for change, and improvements, and really having kind of a keen eye on areas that we can make changes to make things better for students."
Lewis' family and high school sweetheart, Deshawn Caver, have been with her every step of the way.
“Seeing that it's possible to come from where we come from and be very impactful in our community is one of the things that should be shined upon,” Caver said.
Caver, too, was the first in his family to graduate from college.
“She's gonna continue bettering herself as well as the community and the people that she's around," he said. "Seeing that growth, it motivates me to become a better person, a better man."
Lewis will soon start her residency at Barnes-Jewish Hospital.
“To the little girls, I will say no dream is too big," Lewis said. "If you set a goal, if you set your mind to something, you could do whatever. You just have to make sure you apply yourself and do the work. Don't let people who have negative things to say hinder you or hold you back, because if that's the case, you won't get there."
Lewis will receive her doctorate hood on Friday and her diploma on Saturday.
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