A native of Denton, Texas, Abby Lewis is a third-year medical student at UT Southwestern. After earning an undergraduate degree in biochemistry from UT Dallas, she entered medical school with the hope of pursuing residency training in psychiatry or a triple board program – a five-year residency experience that includes training in pediatrics, general psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry.

She first heard about the student-run free clinics as an undergraduate student and immediately started volunteering with the Agape Multidisciplinary Clinic.

“I absolutely loved my first experience with the free clinics,” said Ms. Lewis, whose initial duties included transcribing patient notes, measuring vitals, and observing the attending physician as they mapped out a treatment plan. “What immediately impressed me was how the doctors devoted so much of their free time to Dallas’ underserved population.

“What I experienced struck me as being such a core objective of being a doctor and I felt like I was making a difference every day. I knew after that initial experience I wanted to be part of a program that was giving back to the community.”

As Manager of the Agape Dermatology Clinic, Ms. Lewis was actively involved in finding ways to improve operations, ensuring patients were seen in a timely fashion and locating the proper medications.

“This program brings a sense of humanity back to medicine,” said Ms. Lewis. “They remind me why I want to become a doctor.”