Meharry Medical College

A native of the Garden State, La’ Nyia earned degrees in Mathematics and Mathematics Education, as well as her K-12 Standard Instructional Certificate from Rutgers in New Jersey (Upstream Red Team!). A former high school math teacher and middle school track coach, she thought she escaped the pediatric population with only distant memories of cafeteria food!

While attending medical school in Nashville, La’ Nyia juggled volunteering at Big Brothers Big Sisters, new restaurant hopping, fostering her interest in primary care as a National Health Service Corps scholar, and leading workouts with her classmates-boot camp style. She cites her educational study tour in South Africa, teaching English in Costa Rica, and surfing in Puerto Rico as travel highlights and plans to embrace the move further south by taking advantage of Miami’s diversity, extensive cruise departures, and water sports.

An avid motivational speaker and educator, La’ Nyia co-founded Out!Health, Meharry Medical College’s first LGBTQ organization. She has also received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and Gold Humanism Honor Society membership. La’ Nyia hopes to bridge her extensive teaching experience with her passion for medicine and public health to combat some of the rampant, preventable illnesses that plague many underserved communities. Although hesitant about the humidity and potential sand cuts from South Beach, she looks forward to outdoor capoeira, guava and cheese filled pastries, and mixing up her Portuguese with all of the Spanish she hopes to master as a member of the Med-Peds family at Jackson/University of Miami.