I’m raising money to help cover an outstanding tuition balance and college expenses so I can complete my final year at Morehouse College and continue on my path to medical school. Every contribution, big or small, brings me one step closer to finishing what I started.

Hello my name is Caleb Ratliff a rising senior at Morehouse College and I am studying Biology with aspirations of becoming a Psychiatrist . For as long as I can remember I have always been drawn to being the ear that someone needs and trying to nurture them. I have grown to blend that into medicine specifically psychiatry because I've seen firsthand how much our communities need mental health care. Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, I watched people in my own community struggle silently dealing with stress, trauma, and mental health challenges without access to the care or even the language to talk about it. That silence stuck with me, and it’s a big part of why I want to be in the room when someone finally feels safe enough to speak.

As a Black man from Brooklyn, being raised in a single-parent home, my mother has always done her very best with nurturing, and supporting my younger sister and I. She has also made sure that we went to well off schools in NYC to get a good education. For 4 years, I attended Bishop Loughlin Memorial, a private catholic high school where she has financially put me through schooling, and I am so very grateful and blessed. With that foundation I had the opportunity to be apart of a program in high school called Project Lead The Way (PLTW). I was enrolled in a Medical Intervention Program, and in that program I graduated with my White Coat & Honors.

So upon graduating from high school, I already knew what I wanted to do, and whom I wanted to become. Furthermore, I’m not just chasing a degree , I’m trying to build a legacy. Where I’m from, becoming a doctor isn’t the expected path, and there aren’t many people who look like me showing me that it is possible.

I want to be proof for the next generation coming up behind me, that where you start doesn’t determine where you finish.

I’m also working to break a barrier in my own family. Not only will I be the first to finish college, but also THE FIRST doctor in my family. The late night studying, and every sacrifice, put in isn’t just for me, it’s for my family, and for proving that our story doesn’t have to repeat itself.

I promise I don't just talk about this dream, I work for it.

I am an author, First peer reviewed published student researcher, in the Levy Library. I published "The HOPE Center Model: Expanding Culturally Responsive Mental Health Care in Harlem" through the iCORE (Interdisciplinary Collaborative Research Program) at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, where I studied mental health in Harlem, NY. To add on to this experience, I worked in a faith based mental health organization called HOPE Center Harlem. I was a mental health volunteer and program assistant. I helped set up psychiatric roundtables and symposiums as well as volunteers in mental wellness events.

I’ve also conducted Cancer Health equity research at Morehouse School of Medicine, investigating pediatric osteosarcoma, and glioblastoma through the Fire Upon program, presenting my glioblastoma research at an American Cancer Society conference.

On top of that, I’ve logged over 400 hours in research, 200+ hours shadowing physicians, and 145+ hours volunteering with the FDNY Community Affairs Division and the HOPE Center of Harlem.

I’ve shadowed physicians across psychiatry, emergency medicine, pediatrics, and podiatry, from Mount Sinai’s psychiatric department in Harlem to Kings County Hospital’s ER and the Bishop Orris G. Walker Jr. Health Care Center’s podiatry department in Brooklyn, at OneHealth Brookdale Hospital. I have the opportunity to learn firsthand what it means to serve vulnerable populations with compassion and respect.

At Morehouse College I held many positions such as a New York Club Chief of Staff. Morehouse Health Career Society Member, Brumby Elementary PTA Volunteer and also a student athlete playing Morehouse Men's Lacrosse.

My faith and hard work has carried me through every step of this journey. I’m deeply thankful for my family, (especially my mom) mentors, and professors, . Now, as I enter my final year, I’m facing a real obstacle: an outstanding tuition balance and rising college expenses that are putting my ability to finish at risk. I’ve done everything I can on my end, but I can’t close this gap alone.

I believe God brought me this far for a reason, and I won’t stop pursuing this calling to serve others.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, and thank you for anything you’re able to give. All donations are highly appreciated. No amount is too small and I can promise you it will be greatly used.

Thank you,

Caleb Ratliff Class of 2027 (Future M.D.)