Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Fund offers scholarships to Portuguese-American students Pursuing medicine and other health careers.
Applications for scholarships are being accepted from Portuguese-American students interested in pursuing medicine or other health careers that provide direct patient contact, following the fund’s goal of filling the need among the community for Portuguese-speaking health professionals.
To be considered for these scholarships, applicants need to be Portuguese or Portuguese-American and study in New England, and be attending their junior or senior year of high school; be enrolled in a college/allied health or graduate program; or be accepted to or attending medical/dental school.
A new category for applicants was added this year to include physicians who have obtained their MD degree outside of the US (foreign graduate) and who are currently working towards applying to a residency program in the US. All applicants are required to submit an essay up to 500 words addressed to Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Scholarship Fund Committee, describing their language and cultural connections to the Portuguese-American community and how they envision making a difference once they finish their degrees.
Since these are merit-based scholarships, the applicants also need to submit their transcripts and 2 letters of recommendation from their professors or academic advisors. All application documents should be submitted by e-mail to Dr. Helena Santos-Martins at drleitaofund@gmail.com <mailto:drleitaofund@gmail.com> until midnight of December 9, 2019.
The fund will be offering one scholarship of $2,500 to a medical/dental student, one $2,000 scholarship to a foreign grad MD pursuing residency in the US, one $1,500 scholarship to a college/allied heath/grad student, and one $1,000 scholarship to a high-school student. For additional eligibility requirements, candidates can visit the website www.DrLeitaoScholarshipFund.org <http://www.drleitaoscholarshipfund.org/>; and/or contact Dr. Helena Santos-Martins.
“We are thrilled with the community’s response to the Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Scholarship Fund,” said Dr. Helena Santos-Martins, co-founder and chair of the fund’s advisory committee. “Their generosity has enabled us to offer these scholarships, and we are excited to support another four future health professionals who will surely make a difference in our community. 2020 is a special year as we will be celebrating the 5th anniversary of the Fund, and our 4th year providing scholarships.”
The fund was created in 2015 in the name of the much-loved and highly respected physician, who passed away in February of 2015. Dr. Edward Leitão practiced at the Cambridge Health Alliance, in Massachusetts, for several decades as a well-respected internist and medical director, caring for many patients in the Portuguese-speaking community of the Cambridge/Somerville area
The Advisory Committee plans to announce the scholarship recipients by the end of December and present the scholarships at their 2020 Annual Awards Luncheon, which will take place on Sunday, January 26, 2020 at Filarmónica de Santo António, in Cambridge, MA.
The Massachusetts Alliance of Portuguese Speakers (MAPS) is a private, nonprofit organization that has served the Portuguese-speaking community of Greater Boston, Cambridge and Somerville since 1970. The health and social services organization supports the Dr. Edward Leitão Memorial Scholarship Fund’s mission by being its fiscal agent.
All donations to the Fund are tax-deductible. Information about sponsorship/donation levels are available on the website @ www.DrLeitaoScholarshipFund.org
Source: Press release.
