Late Alumna and Health Fellow Patricia Saidu's legacy will carry on through future healthcare workers
By Elin Hawkinson
In partnership with the Baton Rouge Clinic (The Clinic) BRYC has renamed the annual Health Fellows Scholarship as the Patricia Saidu Memorial Health Fellows Scholarship in honor of Patricia Saidu, a 21-year-old BRYC Alumna and past scholarship recipient who was killed in a car accident in September 2025.
Patricia, a chemistry major, graduated a year early from Xavier University of Louisiana in May 2025, then completed an internship in chemical biology at the University of California, Davis. She had begun taking classes at Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University (FranU) in August and planned to pursue clinical research and a career as a physician. An April 23, 2026 awards ceremony at FranU honored her memory and celebrated 10 recipients of the renamed scholarship, who will each receive $5,000.
“I had the privilege of knowing Patricia since she was in eighth grade. She came into the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition like a bolt of lightning,” CEO Lucas Spielfogel recalled in remarks to the ceremony attendees. He also read an excerpt from a college essay Patricia wrote, in which she described her dream of opening doors for women and girls to succeed in STEM and “use their education to change the world, too.”
She came into the Baton Rouge Youth Coalition like a bolt of lightning.
Lucas issued a direct charge to the 2026 Fellows: “The way to carry on Patricia’s legacy is not to win a scholarship. It’s not even to win this scholarship and go on to what’s next. It’s to be aggressive as hell. Patricia attacked every opportunity she could, and it would not be honoring her if you didn’t do the same.”
FranU hosted the ceremony in recognition of Patricia’s recent connection to the university. For two years, FranU and BRYC have held a memorandum of understanding that provides at least $3,000 in annual financial aid for BRYC Alumni who enroll as freshmen. A separate summer program, Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy, brings younger BRYC Fellows to campus for a hands-on introduction to medical careers.
Martin Aucoin, FranU’s vice president for enrollment management, spoke for the university. “We’re faced with addressing a significant gap, a shortage, in terms of the healthcare workforce,” Martin said. “By participating in the Health Fellows program, and indeed all of our partnerships with BRYC and The Baton Rouge Clinic, we’re empowering the next leaders of that workforce.”
Kaydence is carrying on Patricia's legacy, as I know our 2026 scholars will. On behalf of The Clinic, I'm proud to keep investing in Louisiana's future healthcare professionals.
Now in its sixth year, the Health Fellows Scholarship has supported 55 BRYC Alumni. The Clinic is the primary sponsor, contributing $300,000 since 2021, with the goal of increasing access to healthcare education and careers. Dr. Michael L. Rolfsen, an internist at The Clinic, sits on BRYC’s board of directors and FranU’s board of trustees. Dr. Mike served on the 2026 review panel alongside Dr. Elliot Hardy of The Clinic, FranU dean of students Esther Penns, and past scholarship recipients Nadia Ceasar and Trinton Harris.
“Three years ago, well before I joined BRYC’s board, I met a Health Fellow named Kaydence at the ceremony,” Dr. Mike shared. “She was a year behind Patricia, and very similar: they both had a plan. Kaydence asked me about opportunities to gain some experience over the summer. A week later, she was shadowing us at The Clinic. Today, she’s pre-med at Union College. She spent the past year in Cambodia. She’s going to be a pediatrician. Kaydence is carrying on Patricia’s legacy, as I know our 2026 scholars will. On behalf of The Clinic, I’m proud to keep investing in Louisiana’s future healthcare professionals. They’re right here.”
The panel reviewed 62 applications, consisting of an essay and supporting materials demonstrating career aspirations, and selected the following high school seniors, college students, and graduates:
- Rachel Albert, Tulane University, 2029 (Liberty Magnet High School, 2025)
- Heaven Edwards (Baton Rouge Magnet High School, 2026)
- Kyren Johnson (Southern University Lab School, 2026)
- Destiny Jones, Grambling State University, 2025; FranU, 2028 (McKinley Senior High School, 2020)
- Khloe Jordan (Liberty Magnet High School, 2026)
- Braylan Legarde (Collegiate Baton Rouge, 2026)
- De’Ajah Mack, University of Louisiana at Lafayette, 2025; FranU, 2028 (Baton Rouge Magnet High School, 2020)
- Skyler Morris (Liberty Magnet High School, 2026)
- Ahrianna Vicks, Dillard University, 2028 (Baton Rouge Magnet High School, 2024)
- Durriyah Wisham, Grambling State University, 2028 (Liberty Magnet High School, 2024)
