Amanda Higginson ’02 MD’06, a student in the Syracuse University College of Law’s online JD Program, was one of 60 veterans named Tillman Scholars by the Pat Tillman Foundation this year.
The foundation provides remarkable military service members, veterans, and spouses with academic scholarships, lifelong leadership development opportunities, and connection with a global community of mentors and peers.
Higginson received a Navy Health Professions Scholarship and completed her residency in pediatrics at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. She served on active duty for seven years alongside her husband, deploying twice.
Now the interim associate dean for student affairs at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Higginson works with students to achieve their personal, academic, and career goals. She continues to practice general pediatric medicine, caring for children in a largely rural, underserved area. Higginson decided to attend law school in order to enhance her advocacy for children particularly related to social determinants of health. At the intersection of law and medicine, Higginson hopes to create structural change to empower others to live, work, and achieve their goals at their full potential.
