Gianna Tout-Puissant

Hello, my name is Gianna Tout-Puissant. I am honored to accept the Claes Nobel Academic Excellence Scholarship. This scholarship will allow me to positively impact society by pursuing my dream of becoming a surgeon. My passion for being a surgeon deepened as I worked on an extensive research project, Misogynoir: how race and gender bias combine to affect black women. I interviewed and built long lasting relationships with an abundantly talented group of black women. One interviewee, Dr. Jennifer Ellis, is one of only six practicing black female thoracic surgeons. Dr. Ellis ignited a fire inside of me, which solidified my yearning to be a surgeon and defy the odds as a black woman. The research concluded with a thirty page paper and fifteen minute documentary, which may be viewed here: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq89IwSwsqA&feature=youtu.be I plan to continue my basketball career at a top academic university. I am a member of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Club, and co-founded the first ever Black Student Union at my school. I am also a member of Operation Smile, an organization that provides life-saving cleft lip and palate surgeries to children in third-world countries. In my spare time, I enjoy watching medical shows with my twin sister, cooking, baking, doing ceramics, volunteering at my local hospital, and traveling with my family.