Bipin and Rita Avashia

Because of the Avashias, Dell Med students have a source of financial assistance when disaster strikes. And because of the Avashias, Dell Med students, faculty and residents have additional opportunities to learn from distinguished speakers.

“I firmly believe that, if you are fortunate, you owe it to your fellow human beings to do something to help them,” said Bipin, a retired doctor.

Bipin and Rita worked to instill that dedication to helping others in their daughters and granddaughter. Now a teenager, their granddaughter started giving to various charities at age 6. Recently, she donated the proceeds from her lemonade stand to an animal shelter, and each year on her birthday she donates to the food bank.

“She sees what we do,” Bipin said. “We tell her that helping others in need is our obligation. She’s a smart kid, so she knows that.”

Bipin and Rita moved from Kansas City, Missouri, to Austin in 2013 to be near their granddaughter and older daughter, a physician who cares for underserved communities. The couple’s other daughter is a public school teacher and activist in Boston.

Before retiring in 2011, Bipin worked as an occupational physician caring for employees of the company that became Bayer. He attended medical school in his native India and became the first physician in a family of lawyers. Bipin knew he didn’t want to practice law, and he saw medicine as a good career where he could help people. But medical school was a stretch financially. His father was a public servant and the family wasn’t wealthy, so Bipin took out a loan to help cover his expenses.

Paving the Way for Others Through Scholarships

Bipin knows firsthand the impact of student loans, especially when it comes to choosing a medical specialty. The larger the debt, the more pressure to go into a higher-paying field. So Bipin and Rita created two scholarships that will allow students to borrow less, giving them a broader range of career options. For example, first-year Dell Med student Bonnie Du, a recipient of an Avashia scholarship, is pursuing her passion for helping underserved communities.

“As someone interested in a career in primary care, I am grateful that my future specialty choice will not be driven by financial factors as it might have been were it not for this scholarship,” Du said.

The Avashias’ scholarships support diversity in Dell Med’s student body. Du and four others in the class of 2022 have received a scholarship for students from groups underrepresented in medicine. A second Avashia scholarship, for first-generation college students, will be awarded to three members of Dell Med’s incoming class.

Bipin believes that Dell Med’s emphasis on diversity will pay dividends — that students from underserved communities are more likely to serve those communities after medical school.

Recipients of both Avashia scholarships must demonstrate need and academic merit, and they are encouraged to pay it forward when they are able.

“Somebody helped me when I needed it; I help somebody else who needs it,” Bipin said. “My goal is to create a cycle that continues the good long after I’m gone.”

Helping Students Stay in School After an Emergency

The Avashias also made a gift to establish a student emergency fund — an idea that came to Bipin after reading a national news article. The story featured a university that had created a similar fund to support students financially after crises beyond their control, such as a natural disaster or the death of a parent. Bipin says he wants to keep students from dropping out of school due to the financial complications of calamity.

Steve Smith, associate dean for student affairs, says the fund is a valuable resource for students facing the unexpected.

“Medical students are human beings living human lives,” he said. “Life doesn’t go on hold because you’re in medical school. Things happen.”

For example, several students’ families were affected when Hurricane Harvey hit the Houston area in 2017. Had the fund been in place then, it could have helped cover travel expenses for students going home to help loved ones.

“The fund will be reserved for true emergencies — the kind of things that you can’t predict or budget in advance for,” Smith said.

Enriching the Educational Experience

Finally, the Avashias have made a gift to create a distinguished speaker series that will expand student and faculty educational opportunities. As part of the series, last fall Dell Med hosted an event featuring Anitha Mitchell Logan, a recipient of the Texas Exes 2018 Distinguished Alumnus Award. Logan, the second African-American woman to graduate from The University of Texas Medical Branch and one of the first African-American undergraduate students at The University of Texas at Austin, shared her insights into the challenges facing students from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in medicine. More than 40 people attended, including pre-med UT students and Dell Med students, residents, fellows and faculty.

Dell Medical School is just one of many causes the Avashias support. They also give to community theater, museums, and organizations that support abused women and children.

“I think we all owe something to society for the help we get from others,” Bipin said. “We can’t be selfish.”

Published March 2019