Ta'Shonda Samone Patterson, daughter of Michelle Suries of Garner,NC was nominated in her honors chemistry class to attend Emory University located in Atlantic, Ga., for the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine. NYLF is an educational organization founded specifically to prepare the nation’s highest achieving secondary school students, who have been specially selected for their scholastic merit and strong leadership potential, for their future professional careers. The NYLF of medicine seeks only the most outstanding high school students with academic promise and leadership potential who have an interest in the field of medicine. Ta'Shonda, age 18, attended the medical program for three weeks representing Middle Creek High School of Apex.

While at Emory University, Ta'Shonda had an opportunity to shadow professional physicians and nurses to see what tasks and obstacles they may endure on a daily bases in a hospital as well as participate in simulations and academic activities such as examining leadership by analyzing historical and contemporary leaders in medicine, working in student teams to explore community health needs, as well as given information about a patient's condition and collaborating with team members to reach a diagnosis and plan of care for a regular patient. Ta'Shonda looks forward to having a career in the medical field, but until she reaches her goals and her dreams she will continue to help and care for those who need that medical attention just like a dedicated physician would do.