MACON – Gracie White of Moultrie was recently selected as a Mercer University School of Medicine Nathan Deal Scholar.

Nathan Deal Scholars are eligible based on their strong ties to rural Georgia and are selected by their character, leadership qualities, community involvement and their likelihood of serving in rural, underserved Georgia even after their scholarship obligations are met. They will receive 85%-100% of tuition for up to four academic years.

“The Nathan Deal Scholarship enables and supports students who want to return to rural communities to become outstanding physicians. These scholars represent the highest commitment to providing excellent health care to rural Georgians,” said Mercer University School of Medicine Dean Jean Sumner, M.D., FACP. “These scholarships remove the significant financial burden of medical school debt, which has been perceived as an obstacle for doctors going to rural areas. With this opportunity, students are empowered to return to communities who need them most, the small towns they know and love.”

The mission of investing in students from rural Georgia so that they can return to their hometowns virtually debt-free and be trained to serve the rural, underserved communities of Georgia is what drew White to the Nathan Deal Scholarship.

“I am so thankful to MUSM, the scholarship committee and to the Lord for His continual provision throughout my journey of applying to medical school,” said White. “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to return to my community and focus on giving my patients the care that they deserve without the burden of student loans thanks to the Nathan Deal Scholarship.”

Growing up in rural Georgia, White witnessed firsthand what it means to live in a medically underserved community, she said.

“Through working and volunteering in healthcare positions throughout high school and college, I witnessed the great need for physicians in my community firsthand and wanted to be a part of a positive change in my hometown,” said White.

White plans to practice medicine in either Moultrie or Adel as she considers both places her hometown.

“Both of these towns hold the people that have loved, supported and shaped me into the person I am today,” she said. “I feel as though I owe it to the communities that have supported me my entire life to be a positive change in the medical community and accessibility of care to the people I love most.”

Gracie is the daughter of Beth and Heath White and sister of Mason White.

“The Nathan Deal Scholars will make a difference in the health status of Georgians,” added Dr. Sumner. “This scholarship is one more way Mercer is reinforcing its commitment to rural Georgia.”