As early as the eighth grade, Serese Smith-Haxton, 46, Jefferson City, dreamed of entering the medical field after receiving inspiration from her two sisters - one who became a nurse and the other a medical doctor.
With help from her parents, she began to pursue her own dream of a medical profession after graduating from high school in 1984. However, as the former Kansas City resident explained, had it not been for a naval program, her career may have taken a different path.
Accepted into the six-year medical program at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Smith-Haxton noted, "My parents are retired postal employees and were able to pay for the first four years of my college."