Dr Barry Wint scholar Yanique Jackson says late nephew's words drove her medical journey

Dr Barry Wint scholar Yanique Jackson says the encouragement she received from her nephew before his death became the force that carried her through medical school. Jackson, who is now in the final stretch of completing her medical degree, shared that the turning point came after her nephew was diagnosed with neuroblastoma cancer in 2017 and treated at the UHWI hospital.

Jackson said the period was painful for both her nephew and the wider family. She recalled that he faced a difficult time during his illness, but said the doctors, nurses and other hospital workers helped him through his final days. That support, she said, left a lasting impression on her while she watched what he was going through.

Before he died, Jackson said, her nephew gave her a charge she never forgot. "Auntie Kim, you're going to be the best doctor ever," he told her. Jackson said those words stayed with her and became the motivation behind her push into medicine.

She described that promise as the reason she kept moving forward on the long road to becoming a doctor. In reflecting on her journey, Jackson pointed directly to her nephew's illness, his care at UHWI and his final message as the inspiration that shaped her path.

Jackson was also congratulated for the way she represented the first-year cohort when she delivered her testimonial. As she approaches the end of her degree, the moment stood as both a personal milestone and a public reflection on the experience that first set her on that course.

Her account tied together grief, service and ambition, showing how a family loss helped define her purpose in medicine.