Late at night, after the house was quiet, Safari Baron, a member of the Katz School of Medicine MD class of 2027, sat at his kitchen table studying. His five-year-old daughter had already gone to bed. Books and notes were spread out in front of him—another long night in medical school. 

Then she walked in. 

“Daddy… are you still studying to be a doctor?” 

He told her yes. 

“She nodded and said, ‘Okay… I’m proud of you,’” Baron recalled.  

It was a small moment. But it captured something larger—what it takes to pursue medicine, what it means to the people watching, and what becomes possible when the path is within reach. That sense of possibility, and the commitment required to sustain it, defined this year’s Scholarship Dinner at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. 

Held on Thursday, March 26, the annual gathering brought together students, donors, alumni, and faculty to reflect on Temple’s mission to expand access to medical education and support the next generation of leaders in medicine. The evening focused not only on gratitude, but on the direct connection between opportunity and impact: how scholarship support allows students to pursue medicine, and how those students, in turn, serve communities. 

“This dinner is about what happens when barriers are removed… and opportunity is created,” said Amy J. Goldberg, MD, FACS, the Marjorie Joy Katz Dean. She pointed to the school’s long-standing commitment to access, which dates to its first academic classes nearly 125 years ago and continues to this day. 

“Scholarships are one of the most powerful ways we continue this mission,” she said. “They send an important message to every student who walks through our doors: You belong here.”  

That message was echoed through the stories of three student speakers. 

Kais Jawawdeh, Class of 2027, described growing up in Northeast Philadelphia, where neighbors relied on one another and everyone contributed in whatever way they could. 

“I grew up in a blue-collar neighborhood where you learn pretty quickly that everyone looks out for each other,” he said.  

As a child, he often translated for family friends during medical visits, which helped him see the gaps that can exist between patients and their providers. At Katz, that awareness has led to action. As a leader within the Temple Emergency Action Corps (TEAC), he helped organize student volunteers for a clinic serving individuals experiencing homelessness, where he noted a consistently long waitlist. 

“It’s one thing to talk about compassion, but it’s another to see it show up week after week,” he said.  

For Jawawdeh, scholarship support has made that level of engagement possible. 

“Scholarships don’t just ease that burden, they create freedom,” he said. “Freedom to focus on learning… and to serve patients and communities.”  

Katelyn Rudisill, Class of 2026, traced her path to medicine back to her own experiences as a patient. Diagnosed with a chronic illness as a child, she spent years navigating the healthcare system and watching closely the physicians who cared for her. 

“One physician had a profound impact on me,” she said. “She showed me that medicine was not just about diagnosing disease, but about standing up for patients.”  

At Katz, Rudisill sought opportunities to expand that perspective. She founded the Vialista Foundation, a nonprofit focused on digital literacy and workforce training for underserved youth, with programs extending internationally. 

“Education is one of the most powerful tools we have for changing lives,” she said.  

Scholarship support, she added, has allowed her to pursue that work while continuing her medical training. 

“Your generosity allows us to dedicate more time to learning, serving our communities, and pursuing work that aligns with our values,” Rudisill said.  

For Baron, the path to medicine has been shaped by multiple roles: North Philadelphia native, military veteran, husband, and father. He described a moment earlier in his life when becoming a physician didn’t feel like a realistic option until someone took the time to explain the steps. 

“For the first time in my life, someone had laid out the roadmap. And suddenly, it felt possible,” he said.  

Now at Katz, he is working to create that same sense of possibility for others, helping build a partnership between medical students and his former high school to introduce younger students to careers in medicine. 

“Sometimes, seeing someone who came from a similar background is all it takes to make a dream feel possible,” he said.  

Scholarship support, he emphasized, makes that work, and his own journey, sustainable. 

“Our scholarship donors send the message that someone believes in you,” Baron said.  

Dr. Abbie Leibowitz, MD ’72, a scholarship donor and member of the Katz Board of Visitors, was recognized as a part of that immediate and far-reaching effort, and an example of alumni commitment to paying forward the opportunities they once received. 

“Medicine is a journey full of possibilities,” said Leibowitz. “You may not know where it will take you yet, and that’s part of its power. My time at Temple gave me the foundation to pursue opportunities I never expected, and that’s why I’m honored to support future Katz students through scholarship.”  

By the end of the evening, the throughline was clear: commitment to access, to community, and to the idea that medicine should be open to those driven to practice it. 

For Baron, it comes back to his daughter, and the question she asked that night at the kitchen table. 

Soon, he said, he will give her a different answer. 

“No… I’m not studying anymore,” he said. 

“I am one.” 

To make a gift in support of scholarship at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine, visit giving.temple.edu/givetomed.  

For information about establishing a scholarship fund, contact the Office of Institutional Advancement at  SupportMed@temple.edu