Meet Dominique White | Undergraduate Student at Howard University and Founder of Melanin Medicine

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dominique White and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dominique, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
When I created Melanin Medicine, I wanted to create a supportive space for students like myself who were interested in pursuing a career in the healthcare field. I noticed that a lot of my peers needed extra support from mentors and from students who look like them because transitioning from undergraduate to medical school or any graduate school can be tough. I also noticed that it was hard to find a space where this support was constant or where the support came from people who look like you and who have had the similar experiences to you. Seeing the need for this, I decided that I wanted to be the one who created a space like that so that black students could get supported by black professionals in the healthcare field. I figured by doing this, it would inspire and keep students on the path to joining the healthcare field; something I feel that is important seeing that we are often times not represented in these careers.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Melanin Medicine is different from other business because it is an organization created to be a support system for black students interested in pursuing careers in the healthcare field. I use the organization to create a mentorship program for students, use funds to create scholarships/giveaways for students, and hope to continue to grow to support the field in other ways. I think that the difficult thing about starting this business is getting the word out. I run it completely by myself, so I can only handle so many things. For example, I personally reach out to different medical professionals to ask them to be mentors in the mentorship program. Because it takes time, I can only get a few students mentors for the year. However, I feel that as the organization expands, then I will get more help and I will be able to help more students. And I think that’s been the biggest lesson for me, because I can picture how much I want this organization to be able to do, but since it is a one woman show at the moment, then I have to take my time for it to be successful and to build a strong foundation. Overall, I want the world to know that I just want to help students who look like me achieve their dreams and help my culture become more represented in the healthcare field.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Honestly, because Los Angeles has so much to offer, I feel that they would need to come back a few times for us to do everything that I find to be fun. For something sweet, I would take them to Randy’s donuts. For good breakfast to eat, I would take them to Roscoe’s. I’d love to take them to Santa Monica pier and Disneyland for a great time. Additionally, I could do an early morning hike on Runyon Canyon for some great views of the city.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would overall like to shoutout my mom, my family, and my friends for their support in my journey of creating Melanin Medicine. My mom specifically has been there from the start when it was just an idea and encouraged me to make it into something real. My family has always told me that I can do anything I put my mind to. My friends have helped talk about the organization with others, have reposted many of my Instagram posts, and some of them have any contributed to purchasing items to support the organization.

Website: https://www.melanin-medicine.org/

Instagram: medicalmelanin