Life lessons shape the creation of alumna Amy Black’s scholarship for Healthcare Studies students

Amy Black’s relationship with MUSC has spanned nearly 40 years. In that time, her experience has varied widely as a visitor, a student, a family member of a patient, and even a product provider. She’s come full circle in a cycle that has culminated with establishing an endowed scholarship in the College of Health Professions. 

A 1992 graduate of the Bachelor of Health Sciences program in the College of Health Professions, she created the Amy S. Black Endowed Scholarship. The scholarship fulfills a promise Amy made to herself years ago to turn life experiences into something positive and pay her gratitude forward to others. 

The Bachelor of Health Science program began in 1987 and graduated its last cohort of students in 2011. With the closing of that program, Amy designated her scholarship in support of students in the online Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Studies program, the college’s only undergraduate degree program. The program aims to increase access to higher education in health professions for rural, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students across South Carolina.  

Her MUSC journey began in 1983 when she was a medical laboratory technician (MLT) student at York Technical College. While visiting Charleston from her home in York, South Carolina, a spur-of-the-moment tour opportunity came about to visit an MUSC lab, which she described as situated in an old building with dark stairs. She was fascinated with the facility but not sure what to make of it. A couple of years later, she accompanied her father for exploratory surgery at MUSC. The hospital visit resulted in a long stay for Amy and her family. She recalled spending time with her father during his convalescence, pushing his wheelchair under the shade of the MUSC Horseshoe oaks. The Horseshoe became a peaceful refuge. It was also a place to spend precious time with her dad, who would succumb to cancer a few years later.

After her father’s death, Amy realized she wanted more than her associate degree could provide. She was already an MLT, American Society for Clinical Pathology (ASCP) certified with several years of experience and had moved into a supervisory position. However, she sought to grow and seek more autonomy with her career. At 27, Amy decided to pursue her Bachelor of Health Sciences from MUSC. 

Having achieved admission to MUSC in 1990, the bigger challenge was financing her education. Efforts to secure loans from institutions and family initially proved problematic, so she decided on an alternative. “I was fortunate I had a fallback plan,” Amy recalls. “I found a part-time job working in microbiology at a local hospital. I loved micro as a tech, so this was a perfect fit. I was also working alongside the daughter of the doctor who delivered me in York, South Carolina, which brought me many days of happiness and another level of education I hadn’t planned on.” It was a serendipitous time for her. 

After graduating in 1992, Amy followed a career path that has taken her into sales and as an account executive for major medical suppliers. And though her personal and professional life has taken her away from Charleston, she has nonetheless maintained a high regard for the experiences MUSC provided. She still has occasion to visit the Charleston-area hospitals and MUSC as part of her current job. 

The decision to create a scholarship came about to honor her father’s memory and give back to a program and institution that set her on her career path. Having met with Lauren Gellar, Ph.D., division director of the Healthcare Studies program in the College of Health Professions, she decided to set up an endowment to help those who are both drawn to health care and need assistance to achieve their dreams. “As a graduate of the program, even as it has evolved over the years, it is a non-traditional program with non-traditional students,” Amy said. “Many students have worked for years, many have families, and some are single parents. But I believe the common thread among all these students is an opportunity to advance their career, broaden their education, or personal gratification – all of which comes with sacrifice, perseverance, and determination, qualities I respect in an individual and a scholarship recipient.” 

The Amy S. Black Endowed Scholarship is notable as the first endowed scholarship for the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Studies program. As such, Amy desires the scholarship serve as her legacy. “As a dreamer, looking at where I started with MUSC years ago and knowing where we are in technology and research, my long-term wish would be that a recipient of this scholarship would have a fingerprint on a diagnostic test for early detection and/or prevention of pancreatic cancer. Though it seems out of reach now, I have all the confidence in the talent MUSC draws and will have in the future.”