Kathryn “Liz” Godwin, a 2025 Pisacano Scholar, is a 4th-year medical student at East Tennessee State University’s (ETSU) Quillen College of Medicine, where she is also completing a Master of Public Health. Originally from North Carolina, Liz graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, earning a degree in Asian Studies (with a focus on Chinese) and Management and Society. She later earned her MBA from National Chiao Tung University in Taiwan, where she immersed herself in international collaboration and entrepreneurship. During her time in Taiwan, Liz taught English, participated in international business competitions, and helped launch a biotechnology start-up, experiences that deepened her skills in communication, leadership, and cross-cultural engagement.

Inspired by her growing interest in health care, Liz completed a post-baccalaureate premedical program at the University of Virginia before working as a medical scribe in a rural family medicine clinic. These experiences affirmed her passion for primary care and her decision to pursue medicine at Quillen, a school with a strong mission to serve rural and underserved populations.

At ETSU, Liz has devoted herself to advocacy, leadership, and community health. As co-president of ETSU Health Bridge, she co-founded and led large-scale health outreach events for the unhoused population and helped organize regular street medicine rounds. She also coordinated the annual Point-in-Time Count to document the number of unhoused individuals in her community. As president of students for a National Health Program, she worked to engage her peers in health policy by hosting educational events, drafting emails to send to legislators, and representing medical students at monthly physician advocacy meetings.

Liz’s scholarly work reflects her dedication to health equity. As principal investigator, she leads a project studying vitamin deficiencies among the unhoused population to improve local feeding programs. She has also collaborated on research initiatives addressing coping strategies in rural middle school students and developing models of interprofessional street medicine.

Her service extends beyond the classroom and clinic. Liz has contributed hundreds of volunteer hours with organizations such as Munsey Memorial’s Melting Pot, The River, and the Salvation Army, leading feeding programs, resource drives, and foot care clinics for vulnerable populations. She has also participated in harm reduction and medication-assisted treatment programs for opioid use disorder and assisted in disaster relief efforts in Tennessee following Hurricane Helene. For her dedication, Liz has been recognized with the Quillen Caduceus Community Service Award.

Liz’s excellence in academics and humanism has also been honored with election to Alpha Omega Alpha and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. In addition, she serves her country as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army through the Health Professions Scholarship Program, reflecting her commitment to both community and military service.

Looking ahead, Liz plans to practice full-spectrum family medicine, focusing on military families, underserved communities, and international humanitarian work. She hopes to combine her background in business, public health, and medicine to strengthen primary care systems, expand access to care, and advocate for policies that advance health equity.