As he embarks on a medical degree in California, Va Shon Williams hopes to become the third doctor among his siblings.

The 23-year-old from Pembroke began classes at Loma Linda University two months ago, after graduating from Alabama’s Oakwood University in May with a double major in chemistry and maths.

The university, located east of Los Angeles, is the same alma mater attended by his brothers Nevin, now an internal specialist at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, and Shammah, who is in his third year of a cardiology fellowship in Loma Linda.

“My brothers have told me to study hard and stay focused, and they’ve recommended specific textbooks that they found helpful,” said Va Shon, the youngest of eight boys.

During his studies, the Bermuda Institute alumnus is being financially supported by three scholarships, one of which was launched last year by Dr J.J. Soares, who runs the Hamilton Medical Centre.

Dr Soares’s scholarship is worth $10,000 annually for a maximum of three years. Va Shon applied for it in June, after reading a Royal Gazette article, and discovered he had won the endowment last month.

“I hold dearly the faith that Dr Soares and the physicians on the interview board have placed in me, and I will continue to do my best,” he said. “I recognise that I’m now not only working for myself, my family and my God, but with their support as well.”

Although still in the nascent stages of his medical studies, Va Shon has already contemplated areas in which he might wish to specialise.

“I’m considering neurology, because I watched my grandmother’s decline with Alzheimer’s and dementia,” he said.

“I’d like to find treatments for that, even a cure if possible, to help other families that go through the same experience.

“My other area of interest is nuclear medicine, which has its application in cancer treatments. It would be a good way to use my undergraduate skills.”

While studying consumes large portions of Va Shon’s time, he relaxes by playing football and has also been checking out Loma Linda’s churches.

“When I call my mum, she asks me if I’ve done my devotional and makes sure I continue to pray,” he said. “She’s proud of me and my brothers, but most importantly she wants us to be well-off spiritually as well as physically.” And if the prospect of a decade’s medical training ever becomes daunting, Va Shon knows how to regain some perspective. “It’s a lot when you look at it all at once,” he said, “but I’ve learnt to take it one day at a time — sometimes even one hour at a time.”