White Coat Ceremony | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Because of his motivation and perseverance, Robles Arvizu was named a Gates Millennium Scholar. The program, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, provides a full scholarship to any undergraduate institution to students from underrepresented groups. The scholarship also covers master's and doctoral studies in the disciplines of computer science, education, engineering, library science, mathematics public health, and the sciences, where these groups are severely underrepresented.

    "Being named a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship one of the largest blessings that allowed me to peruse my dream of becoming a physician without the immense financial barrier that many first-gen students encounter," he said.

    As he begins medical school, Robles Arvizu plans to use his life experiences to be empathetic to his future patients' barriers and circumstances.


    "Having faced my own challenges and adversities, I would use these experiences to relate to my patients and their struggles," he said. "This empathy would help me provide better care and make a positive impact on my patients' lives."

    Grant Irons

    The Class of 2027 includes a student whose family has already built a legacy in eastern North Carolina health care.

    Grant Irons is the great-grandson of regional health care pioneers Fred and Malene Irons and the grandson of Tom Irons, professor emeritus of pediatrics at Brody, medical director of Access East and the N.C. Agromedicine Institute, and interim medical director of physician assistant studies.

    Grant Irons was born and raised in Greenville and attended UNC-Chapel Hill, where he earned a degree in biology with minors in chemistry and health and society.

    "It is truly humbling to carry on my family's legacy here in eastern North Carolina," he said. "I was lucky enough to spend time with my great-grandparents, Drs. Fred and Malene Irons. As I've grown up, I continue to learn more about their work and the impact they had on health infrastructure in eastern North Carolina. Their legacy demonstrates the impact of servant leadership. My late grandmother and grandfather, better known as Carol Irons and Dr. Tom Irons, continued this tradition of selfless service. I would not be the man I am today without their guidance as I aim to hold myself to their standard; a life lived with compassion, and humility."

    Tom Irons said he could not be prouder of his grandson's desire to serve as a physician.

    "I'm Grant's only living grandparent, but I like to believe that today the other three are wearing smiles as big as mine," he said. "His parents and I could not be more grateful that he has been given this opportunity, or prouder that he has chosen to come to Brody and eastern North Carolina."

    He added that he encourages his grandson and Grant's classmates to follow their hearts.


    "There is nothing easy about this journey you have undertaken, but if you put your heart into it, the rewards will be immeasurable," he said. "Keep your head down these first two years, lean on each other, ask for help when you need it and never forget that there is no life more noble than a life of service."

    Grant is eager to live out a legacy and mirror his grandfather's ideals and impact in medicine - but he is also ready to make his own name through the medical school that represents a life goal.

    "The opportunity to be a student at Brody means the world to me; it has been a dream of mine for some time," he said.

    Grant Irons sees the bigger picture of eastern North Carolina's health care landscape and also plans to make a difference through policy.

    "Regardless of my career path, I have long been interested in health policy," he said. "Initially, I was exposed to the importance of institutions through my family. Since I was old enough to understand, I have been fortunate enough to learn about care disparities and their impact on health outcomes."

    As a student at UNC-Chapel Hill, Irons explored the relationship between power, policy and differential health outcomes. He helped lead a chapter of PIH-Engage, a global health organization dedicated to building sustainable health infrastructure. That experience has led him to lead on a variety of fronts.

    "As a physician I want to be more than a care provider; I hope to be a leader in my community," he said. "While significant progress has and continues to be made, care expansion efforts are far from over. There are far too many people still in need."

    Lachlan Younce

    Something about home - both places and people - helps to decide our futures for us.

    Lachlan Younce is about as eastern North Carolina as a guy could get. His father's family is from Belhaven and his mother's is from Vanceboro. He played football and lacrosse at J.H. Rose high school in Greenville. He was a sailing counselor at a YMCA camp in Arapahoe, on the Neuse River, which will become important to his story.


    At the camp he made friends with another counselor, a young man who ran a lot and worked out. Younce asked his friend why he was so fanatical. The answer - he was getting ready for the U.S. Naval Academy. Younce isn't from a military family and had no idea what that meant but got very interested.

    Younce applied for an appointment to the Academy and received one from the late Representative Walter B. Jones, who Younce recalls fondly. His initial attempt to get into Annapolis didn't work out, so after graduation he headed west to Raleigh where he was part of the ROTC program at N.C. State, which he said was a blessing because he learned about military culture, which was completely foreign.

    The next year his fortune changed and the Navy accepted him as a Midshipman.

    Like many young men entering the academy, Younce wanted to be a pilot. He had his mind on studying political science; instead he took his first physics class, majored in chemistry and applied to the medical corps track.

    He graduated in May 2023 as an ensign, and the Navy told him he could apply to any medical school in the country. He applied to three, but there was only one he really wanted to receive an acceptance letter from.

    "I had the best interview experience here at Brody, I just felt like I was at home. This community raised me, built me and I think that learning medicine here is going to be extremely rewarding," Younce said.

    He's not completely sure about what specialization he might pursue after graduation, but Brody's mission of educating the next generations of primary care physicians impresses him.

    "I think it's great that a school so oriented towards primary care can train a physician to go into the military and provide care that service members need," Younce said.

    The winding route that brought him home means more than just place. Health care is a thread that is beginning to be woven into the fabric of his family. His mother is a registered nurse with ECU Health and a proud Pirate Nurse. His sister, Fallon Younce, has a year and a half until she graduates from the College of Nursing as a Pirate nurse herself.

    "We're going to be able to overlap these two years, and one thing I've learned is that nurses know what's going on, so I'm going to use nurses' knowledge to be successful," Younce said.


    After graduation, he'll owe the Navy a number of years as an active-duty Navy doctor, which he is excited for, but is ultimately unsure about a career in uniform. Regardless of when is his time in uniform ends, he's sure he'll return to eastern North Carolina to use his Brody training to improve access to health care in underserved areas.