We prepare and empower youth to become tomorrow's health, science and technology leaders

The Ladder was started because we saw a need to expose children and teenagers from diverse communities to medical and healthcare careers and increase matriculation. A recent Association of American Medical Colleges report indicated that the number of Black students who applied to medical school increased significantly since 2014. However, the percentage accepted to medical schools has remained level at 35%. Specifically, the number of Black men enrolled in medical school did not rise between 1978 and 2014.

During the last ten years, we have expanded the number of people interested in applying for medical school and created a pipeline to medical school and a supportive community. The Ladder participants are committed to elevating each other before and during medical school. It has been incredibly rewarding to see youth who thought they would never become doctors become physicians, students who never saw themselves teaching have become medical school faculty, and physicians who never thought of themselves as leaders have learned to lead. This exemplifies our motto, “Lift as you climb, build as you grow.”

Three of the most recent Under-Represented in Medicine (URM) recruits at the University of Minnesota School of Medicine faculty are Ladder participants. Numerous black and brown students who started with us expressed that The Ladder was crucial when they faced the challenges of healthcare education. The graduating medical school class of 2022 has participants from The Ladder that started with us in high school.