A trainee doctor with a family tradition of medicine took a step closer to achievement of her dream after she won a top scholarship.

Chioma Nwasike, 25, was awarded the Robert and Margaret Harvey Medical Scholarship for her outstanding academic achievement and her public service.

She said the cash would go towards her final year of medical school at the prestigious Howard University in Washington.

Ms Nwasike said: “I am extremely humbled and grateful. There are lots of additional expenses the closer you get to finishing and I am happy to be able to relieve my parents of a portion of that financial strain.”

Ms Nwasike, a former Berkeley Institute pupil from Warwick, said that she applied for the scholarship earlier this year when a mentor suggested that she apply for financial aid.

She admitted that seven years of study had piled on financial pressure.

Ms Nwasike said: “Medical school has stretched me not only academically and emotionally, but financially as well.

“There are not many scholarships dedicated to medical students specifically, which makes them extremely competitive, so I definitely did not hesitate once I found out that I was eligible.”

Ms Nwasike tried to stand out from the crowd by including her work with a committee at her school that campaigned for diversity in medical schools in her application.

Margot Harvey, the co-ordinator for the scholarship, invited her for an interview in June and Ms Nwasike was told she had landed the award on the spot.

Ms Nwasike said: “We talked a lot about my plans and I think she appreciated the vision I have for my career and how I hope to impact my community.

“Dr Harvey seemed to be really impressed with my academic achievements in addition to my community involvement and extracurricular activities.”

She added: “Immediately after the interview she told me that she would like to offer me the award.”

Ms Nwasike is working as a medical intern in Washington for the summer.

She said that she hoped to work in inner-city areas to help disadvantaged people before she moved back to Bermuda.

Dr Harvey said: “Studying medicine will consume every available hour that you have in one day, so it is always amazing to me when students extend themselves outside of the field of study.”

Ms Nwasike was inspired to study medicine by her Bertram Ross, her grandfather, and Fiona Ross, her aunt, who both qualified as doctors.

She started her academic career at Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia, Canada, and transferred to Howard in 2016.