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The Face of TENACITY

Updated: Aug 28, 2021

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”

Amelia Earhart

Senior neuroscience major Quintasha Beamon is a first-generation college student, currently pursuing a degree in medicine. She maintains a GPA above a 3.0, is a residential assistant (RA) and works as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at a local group home. She is the face of tenacity.

Beamon believes tenacity to be perseverance’s ferocious cousin. “Someone with tenacity isn’t afraid to recognize their shortcomings and works to overcome them,” she stated.

She accredits her tenacious spirit to her mother who, as a single parent, filled both parental roles and provided for her and her four siblings. With this example, Beamon was able to utilize her own tenacity as she attended Michigan State University.

In 2018, during her junior year, Beamon was diagnosed with a skin condition that left painful blisters on the palms of her hands and soles of her feet. On the worst days, this rare form of eczema made writing and walking nearly impossible. The pain became so severe, it frequently kept her up at night and made her consider taking time off from school.

“I thought that was the end. I thought I was going to have to put away my goal of every wearing a white coat,” she confessed.

While contemplating her options, Beamon fell into a period of deep anxiety and depression. A period, she admits, only prayer got her through… Well that, and her innate sense of tenacity. Ultimately, she chose to stay at school, continue her studies and stay on track for graduation.

“I would go to school everyday and not miss office hours,” Beamon remembered, “I went to school like everybody else and sat in the front row.”

She fought a daily struggle and willed herself to not only attend but perform well in her courses, at times, having to walk across campus with blistered feet. To get through the day, Beamon constantly reminded herself, “I belong here. I deserve to be here. I want to be here.” Her tenacious disposition prevailed, propelling her to make the Dean’s List that semester.

This experience drives Beamon to utilize her tenacity while pursuing her medical degree and in other aspects of her life. She hopes to one day give back to her community by encouraging little black girls to dream big and not let their current circumstance define them.

“In my community, there are a lot of women that go through the same things I went through [as a child],” she said, “I want them to hear my story, where I came from and how I grew up and know that [where they are now] is not the end all to be all.” After all, that is what tenacity is; learning to persevere even when the odds are stacked against you.

“I don’t let my past struggles define who I am as a person,” Beamon concluded.

She is the face of TENACITY.


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