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Friends stick together to better themselves
By Jewell Cardwell
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Wednesday, Nov 12, 2008
Early on and wisely, they bought into the notion that ''If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem.''
They opted to work hard at being the solution.
And it proved to be good medicine; not only just for them, but also for all whose lives they affect.
I'm speaking of Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins and Rameck Hunt, affectionately known as the Three Doctors.
If you believe the statistics, this handsome trio of African-American males — who grew up in inner-city Newark, N.J., with single mothers and surrounded by the negative influences of drugs and the like — defied those odds and overcame them in a big way.
The doctors, who were on stage Tuesday evening at the University of Akron's E.J. Thomas Hall, said the secret to making it out was the special bond they made with each other
in school.
Davis and Jenkins had been together since elementary school; Hunt joined them in high school.
Fortuitously, they gravitated to each other.
''We had the same advanced-placement classes and saw that we had a lot in common,'' Davis noted. ''The way we dressed, sports and girls.
''Each of us has a laid-back coolness, we liked getting good grades and we noticed that quality in one another. And we realized we had the same hardships. So, we tried to find a plan, like a treasure hunt, to get out.''
So, they decided, why not just stick together?
''We saw balance in each other,'' Jenkins said.
''Aspiring for excellence wasn't seen as the cool thing to do where we came from,'' he said, adding that they felt safe talking about their goals with each other.
Trio educated together
It's paid off in huge dividends.
The three, who were recruited together by Seton Hall University and went to the same medical school, struggled all the way financially.
They were promised scholarships, which fell through. But they wouldn't allow that to be the roadblock to their success.
''The three of us took a scholarship book and divided it into thirds,'' Davis said. What scholarships didn't pay for, they did with loans. ''We even set up a payment plan. We were fortunate the school let us. . . . It was tough. We were threatened every semester that we were going to be kicked out. But because we were doing so well [academically] they were going to figure out a way. . . . We also had an assertive attitude to stay in school.''
They regularly beat a path to the college's bursar's office, pleading their case.
''I would even cry,'' Hunt said. ''He [the bursar] saw the sincerity in us. And he took some heat over that, too.''
They also credit Carla Dickson, a counselor at the college, with mentoring them.
''We were the first in our families to go to college and there was so much we didn't know,'' Davis said. ''She served as our earth angel, guiding us step by step. Like the importance of making a meeting with our professors if there was a problem. . . . She always saw us as successful. She started referring to us as doctors in our freshman year.''
''Looking back now, it was our friendship that made the difference. Because we were the underdogs,'' Davis continued.
The doctors — all 35 years old — said a great many of the friends they knew in high school are dead, in jail or strung out on drugs. Had they not had each other to map out a way, that might have been them.
That's why they feel so passionately about helping young kids find the right way out.
''We want to be the face of education,'' Davis insisted. ''We're not saying take down the posters of Michael Jordan or LeBron James. Just to show them another way — the Three Doctors and possibly the Four Architects.''
Giving children from the ghetto viable options is their mission.
''Actually becoming a physician is more reachable than becoming a basketball superstar,'' Hunt said.
Davis is a board-certified emergency medicine physician and a consultant for the Violence Prevention Institute focusing on gang awareness and preventative medicine in Essex County, N.J.
Jenkins is assistant professor of clinical dentistry at Columbia University.
Hunt is a board-certified internist at University Medical Center at Princeton and assistant professor of medicine at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
They're also authors of three inspiring books about their lives — The Pact, We Beat the Streets (geared to middle-school students) and The Bond, which speaks to responsible fatherhood.
''Our first book — The Pact — got us notoriety,'' Hunt said, adding that it was an opportunity to disavow the long-standing myth that ''it's not cool to be smart. . . . It's OK to embrace our culture but so is getting good grades.''
Soon after graduating from medical school, the friends established the Three Doctors Foundation with their own money as a way to give back — scholarships and mentorships.
Winners of the 2000 Essence Award for their leadership, they also won the admiration of Oprah Winfrey, who declared them ''rock stars.''
Proud of Obama
While feeling good about their own successes, the Three Doctors are especially proud of Barack Obama.
''Last week was very inspiring,'' Hunt said.
''Some of my patients from an affluent area would say to me, 'I don't know if the country is ready for an African-American president.' I would ask them 'Are you ready?' Well, we all saw that America is ready.''
Davis and Jenkins agreed, Jenkins saying: ''He's already accomplished the impossible, putting together the best minds to hammer out the best course of action. I'm excited to see what's next.''
After all that is their mantra: doing the impossible when you're told it can't be done.
Jewell Cardwell can be reached at 330-996-3567 or jcardwell@thebeaconjournal.com.
Early on and wisely, they bought into the notion that ''If you're not part of the solution then you're part of the problem.''
Get the full article here.
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