Dr. Courtney Grant has seen a lot of the world in just a short time. But all of that traveling—for school, work, and volunteering—made one thing very clear. There is no place like home.
“Georgia is home,” says Grant BS ’07, a native of Evans. In 2020, after becoming the first Black woman to graduate from the acclaimed vascular surgery fellowship at the Baylor College of Medicine, Grant returned to her home state in September to practice with offices in Hall and Gwinnett counties.
“When it comes to practicing medicine, there is something to be said about connecting with your patients and your colleagues,” she says. “Having a common bond and feeling at home makes it all the more fulfilling.”
Grant and her older sister Porsha ABJ ’02, also a UGA alumna, are first-generation graduates. Grant double-majored in biology and psychology and was in the Honors Program. As a student, she helped build and grow the Minority Premedical Student Association, eventually becoming its president.
After graduating, Grant taught biology for Teach for America in Houston, before earning her medical degree at the University of North Carolina. She also participated in medical mission trips to countries such as Venezuela and Tanzania before beginning her fellowship in Baylor’s vascular surgery program, one of the nation’s finest.
Grant hopes to inspire others, especially women and women of color, to pursue a career in medicine. “We need more bright, passionate women in the field, especially in surgery and surgical subspecialties,” Grant says. “Once you make up in your mind what it is that you want to do, go for it.”