Gabrielle Jasmin: From Haiti to Harlem

“I knew there was something different about the way he treated his patients,” said Jasmin, who, upon returning from Haiti, went to Virginia to shadow him for five days. “I’m a big believer in preventative medicine, and as I did more research I noticed that osteopathic physicians were taking a similar approach,” said Jasmin. “They’re figuring out ways to prevent sickness even before it starts.”

Education and Success in School    

Jasmin, who hails from the town of Haverstraw in Rockland County, New York, has a desire to care for the underserved: a passion rooted in her childhood and her family’s struggles with money. Her parents emigrated from Haiti; Jasmin’s father finished cabinets, and her mother cleaned houses. Later, she became a home health aid.

While they couldn’t provide much financial support, they did instill in their daughter the value of education. “My mother always told me that education was the key to get anywherein the United States, you have to get an education,” said Jasmin.

Her parents’ emphasis on education led Jasmin to Stony Brook University in Long Island, where she majored in biology and minored in cultural anthropology. She went on to pursue her master’s degree at TouroCOM, which drew her into the DO program.

“She does phenomenally well in school. She’s always taking initiative and strives to do more,” said Dr. Maria Pino, Jasmin’s faculty advisor. “She takes responsibility seriously and understands what being a physician in the real world is like.”

Leadership and Giving Back

Jasmin is currently president of the Student Government Association (SGA) at TouroCOM, and last year participated in mentoring program MedAchieve, taking two high school students under her wing. Jasmin has always been enthusiastic about helping youth, a drive that springs from her mother’s work with young people.

“Her main goal in life was to inspire students and young people,” Jasmin said.

Jasmin's accomplishments at TouroCOM have made her eager to give back.

“I want to find ways to bring the community together or to make the students feel like they are at a good place at Touro and let them know that Touro has their back,” she said. “We’re working with the administration to provide the best services for the students and to address their needs and their concerns.”

After graduating, Jasmin hopes to practice in an underserved community: She understands first-hand the struggles of going to a clinic and the high demand for doctors.

She hopes to work as a pediatrician because—like her mother—she adores youth and their enthusiastic drive. “We need to impart preventative health knowledge upon the younger generation and teach them different ways to be healthy while at the same time, have fun.”

Currently, however, Jasmin loves the fact that TouroCOM provides a family-like community. The administration is very dedicated, she says, and they make it a priority to be available. Many of them know her and her classmates by name because of the one-on-one assistance they’ve offered, she says.

 “I don’t know if I’d be able to get that anywhere else.”