Now a medical student, Louisiana man returns to the hospital where he was once a security guard

Eleven years ago, Russell Ledet would attend classes at Southern University and A&M College in the day and then work as a security guard at Baton Rogue General Medical Center at night, studying organic chemistry during his breaks.

Today, Ledet is a medical student working inside the hospital, and he hopes that his story will inspire young people who believe becoming a doctor is out of their reach. "I thought growing up only rich people go to college," Ledet told BBC News. After high school, the Louisiana native joined the Navy as "a way out," and he "started to realize that the world was more than where I was from."

He enrolled at Southern University and A&M College in 2009, and took on the security guard job in order to support his growing family. After shadowing the hospital's chief surgery resident, he was motivated to continue his education, and earned his PhD in molecular oncology from New York University. In 2018, Ledet was accepted into the Tulane University School of Medicine, and earlier this year, launched The 15 White Coats organization with fellow students. Their motto is "Resilience is in Our DNA," and they want to help give a foundation to children of color planning careers in the medical field.

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"Coming from where I come from, nobody tells you that you can do things in the world, you can make an impact," Ledet told BBC News. "If nobody tells you, you don't know. But now that I know, I can tell the kids." Catherine Garcia