2024 Student Today, Alumni Tomorrow Award: Hugh McFarlane '24

JMU senior Hugh McFarlane will graduate this May with a Bachelor’s degree in health sciences and minors in honors interdisciplinary studies and pre-medicine.

Growing up, McFarlane remembers looking through the medical textbooks that his pops, who was a fire medic and emergency room nurse, had. This inspired him to take that first EMT class, and now, he is a paramedic at the Harrisonburg Rescue Squad–a rare accomplishment for someone his age. 

Although McFarlane has been very active in the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, the organization he feels has had the most impact on him is Empowerment3 (E3). According to the Empowerment3 website, their mission is to “conduct programming, research, training, and support the physical and mental health…of underserved communities.” E3’s mission hits close to home for McFarlane, whose cousin has cerebral palsy, and he loves the experiences that he has had with his mentees. 

While doing research under Dr. Santo Coleman at JMU, McFarlane found his passion for public health research. After learning about the social determinants of health and their effects on different communities, McFarlane now plans to get a Master’s degree in public health alongside his M.D. Through this, he hopes to “empower and assist students form marginalized groups in exploring the possibilities there are in medicine for them.”

Currently, McFarlane is studying for the MCAT exam and applying to medical schools for this cycle. Since the application cycle takes a year, he is applying to public health research positions with the Virginia Department of Health and National Institute of Health. 

When asked if he had any advice for his fellow peers, he advised “do not be afraid to fail. Just take it one day at a time.”