Priscilla Walker is one focused student. The recipient of a Baccalaureate/Doctor of Medicine award, she prepares inside and outside the classroom for a career as a physician.

Attracted to USI by the biology program, Walker has reinforced her learning and interaction with faculty as a student worker in the microbiology lab. She participated in summer 2007 in a virology course taught by USI faculty in England and spent summer 2008 in Kenya working with HIV/AIDS patients. A food and nutrition major, she plans to use her knowledge of nutrition in the future to teach patients how eating smart can help control conditions such as cardiovascular disease and diabetes. She already guides schoolchildren in learning about healthy eating through work with the Professor Popcorn program of the Vanderburgh County Extension Office. Walker also is a leader in campus life. As a resident assistant, she helps shape the USI experience for other students.

Walker comes from an Indianapolis family of seven daughters. The B/MD award assists with her college costs and offers an enriched education.

“It motivates me to be accountable,” she said. “I want to be an asset to USI. It’s my responsibility to be the best student I can be.”