While for many others deciding to pursue a specific career path doesn't come until college, BYU student Ian Atkin's inspiration to become a doctor came to him as an 11-year-old, and since then, he has not looked back.
Growing up in Texas with a single mother, Atkins said he first became interested in medicine when a family friend cast his broken arm after an attempt to flip off his bed.
Atkins' initial interest in medicine grew after the death of his youngest brother, Jaylen, who fell into a pool at a young age. After being rushed to the emergency room, the doctors could not save him.
Atkins remembered the dismissiveness of the doctors at the hospital.
“To an 11-year-old kid finding out, like, this is my first experience with the actual death of somebody I knew and loved. ‘Sorry, it just happens,’ wasn't a good enough answer for me,” Atkins said. “I was not okay with that, and I couldn't believe that the life of the person that I held so dear was trivialized to just another day the office for somebody else.”
Since then, Atkins was determined to become a doctor. The path has not been easy for Atkins, who has had to jump many obstacles, he said.
Being an African-American individual who sees little representation of his family and culture in the medical field, finding the resources to accomplish his goals has not been a process simply handed to him, he said.
“People who look like me usually aren't in those offices,” he said.
Atkins is studying biology and chemistry at BYU with sociology minor. He is now applying to medical schools.
Atkins also participates in BYU's Student Activities team.
“Ian is probably one of the most passionate people that I’ve ever met. He commits himself 100% to everything that he does … and I think that passion drives him to succeed,” Annie Walker, a member of the Student Advisory Council for BYUSA who has volunteered with Atkins, said. “I think naturally he has that personality where he is able to thrive and flourish in the things he's involved in."
As a presidency member of the Black Student Union club, Atkins is the vice president of activities where he plans activities and helps problem solve for the club.
Alicia Goff has had the opportunity to work with Atkins in the Black Student Union Presidency as the vice president of advertising.
“He isn't afraid to speak his mind to give his opinion, and he's just, he's such a bright soul,” Goff said.
Through working with Atkins, Goff has been able to learn more about her goals and aspirations.
“He has a set goal, and he's going towards that goal with nothing getting in his way. And I feel like that's one thing I really admire about him, and one thing I want to encompass in myself,” Goff said.
Aside from Atkins's many goals, aspirations and activities, he enjoys his day to day life expressing his passions through music and cultures. He is passionate about advocacy for people of color in medicine and all other aspects of life, he said.
“I am so passionate about music and really, just like any opinion that I have, if you know me, you know I am sometimes very opinionated,” Atkins said.
He often talks with the people he works with and the members of the Black Student Union on these topics. This has helped him build close friendships with others who share these passions, he added.
Ultimately, Atkins’s goals all point toward one end point: to help and inspire people.
“I don't think I'm a special guy who's got like, this insane, like gift to be something else, to be something more, but I do believe, like, if I really want to try and do something, I can," Atkins said. "I want to prove that to myself, because once I do it, that opens the door for so many other people to do it."
Atkins makes it his goal to chase after his aspirations and inspire others to do the same.
“We need people from all walks of life, everywhere, who give us a different perspective, and allow us to see the whole picture, because we get colors that paint every single color for that picture, and that's what's important,” Atkins said.