Alumni Spotlight: Hakim Muhammad, MD

 #WhatADoctorLooksLike

In October 2016, a Black female doctor was on an airplane and she tried to assist another passenger after the flight attendants as if there was a "doctor in the house" Well, that flight attendant said, "they needed an actual doctor". The "actual" Black female doctor was so offended that she took to Facebook and posted about the incident. Shortly after many Black doctors both male and female started sharing and posting their picture with the hashtag #WhatADoctorLooksLike. It is so crazy to me that people don't know what a Black doctor looks like. Well, for those folks that don't know, here's another reminder. I got the chance to chat with a Black doctor and this one graduated from University High School.

I had the opportunity to talk to an alumnus Dr. Hakim Muhammad about his time here at University HIgh School and what he's up to today.

After graduating from UHS in June 1998, he enrolled in Richard Stockton College of NJ, where he studied Biology with a concentration in medicine. Following the completion of his undergraduate degree, he was accepted at Ross University School of Medicine. Ross University is where he spent the next four years working on my Doctorate of Medicine.

Going to medical school is no easy feat. First you have to get to and through undergraduate school with a great GPA so I was curious as to what impact University High had on his academic achievement so I asked, did UHS adequately prepared you for college and/or a career?

"Going to University High School provided an excellent opportunity for me to succeed and reach my dreams. The environment was small and close knit. The faculty knew your name and had a vested interest in the personal success of every student. University High School was like a second home and their staffs were your second family."

It is good to know that our school is capable of producing students that can one day get into medical school.

Currently, Dr. Muhammad is working as an Adjunct Professor for Essex County College, Orange County Community College, and Touro College of Osteopathetic Medicine. As a professor, his job is to instruct and train the next generation of physicians and undergraduate students beginning their journey in the health sciences. But his personal journey continues. He will soon begin his training in the field of Psychiatry with a focus adolescent and adult medicine.

 I asked Dr. Muhammad to share his fondest memory was from his days at University. He said the following,

"My fondest memory of University high school would have to be the day that I graduated. It was a bitter sweet moment. I realized that the days of comfort and security that high school offered was coming to an end. However, the path towards my future was wide open and ready for the taking."

Lastly, I asked Dr. Muhammad to leave current University students some words of advice?

"The advice that I would give to the current generation of University High School students is to take advantage of every opportunity that is made available to you. Hone your skills and take your education seriously. The duality of education occurs both in the classroom and your experiences from the world around you. All of these opportunities can be the passport that makes your future possible."

Personally, I believe that these wise words can benefit us students in any way, shape, or form. Sometimes I think that we really SHOULD take our more education seriously. Instead of just copying the right answers off of each other. Perhaps we’d actually learn something instead of complaining that the teachers aren’t doing their job. We have some huge shoes to fill if we are going to prove to adults that we aren’t the worst generation when it comes to academics.

I know we can do and be better. Who knows, one of us here at UHS right now can go on and continue to show the world #WhatABlackDoctorLooksLike