A legacy of learning: First-generation graduate and alum highlights impact of scholarship and mentorship
Dr. Alina Bazarian ’14, a Skidmore neuroscience major, graduated with her M.D. from Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine in New Jersey this year and recently began her three-year residency training through the Saratoga Hospital Family Medicine Residency Program.
She was chosen as one of six residents from more than 1,500 applicants to enter the
new residency program, a collaboration between Albany Medical Center and Hudson Headwaters
Health Network. Six residents will be added to the residency each year, totaling 18
residents by 2025. Dr. Bazarian says she is excited to be back in Saratoga Springs,
home of her alma mater.
Residents will receive training at Saratoga Hospital, Saratoga Community Health Center, Saratoga Race Course’s Backstretch Clinic, Hudson Headwaters Ticonderoga Health Center, and the soon-to-open Glens Falls Family Health Center. The program provides clinical training in both hospital and ambulatory medicine, with special emphasis on behavioral health, addiction treatment, population and community health, and rural health.
“I am thrilled to be a part of this inaugural class of this residency program and to help cultivate the culture for future classes to come,” Dr. Bazarian says. “Being a part of something new is an exciting opportunity for me, as I was also a part of the inaugural class of my medical school.”
Dr. Bazarian, who largely grew up in Watertown, Massachusetts, is a first-generation college student and will be the first physician in her family. As the daughter of Armenian immigrants, she is passionate about mentorship for FGLI/URiM (first-generation, low-income/underrepresented in medicine) pre-medical students. The Skidmore Scholars in Science and Mathematics (S3M) Scholarship and the Palamountain Scholarship provided Dr. Bazarian with the opportunity to attend Skidmore.
“What drew me to Skidmore College initially was its robust liberal arts curriculum and small class sizes. I felt as though I could get an individualized education, and it certainly delivered,” she says. “Skidmore provided me with a well-rounded education in the humanities and sciences that has served me well in my role as a resident physician delivering holistic, patient-centered care.”
