As a teenager, Jameel Alausa enjoyed playing basketball for the University of Chicago Laboratory Schools. However, his teachers and family believed he had to choose between sports and academics. "I was always at odds with them on this," said Alausa, 25, whose parents emigrated from Nigeria. "I thought I could do both."
Alausa managed to balance both pursuits, eventually playing for Yale University while earning a degree in economics. As he progressed in his educational career, leading him to the Pritzker School of Medicine, he observed others struggling when their basketball aspirations ended without an alternative career plan.
"A lot of my teammates and friends saw basketball as their only outlet to success, and when they weren’t able to reach the NBA, they were severely impacted," said Alausa, now a second-year student at Pritzker. "Some of them ended up engaging in activities that unfortunately led to them passing away or going to jail."
These experiences motivated Alausa and a group of college and former professional athletes studying medicine to help underserved students by introducing them to medical careers and providing mentorship.
Their organization, Sneakers to Scrubs, aims to increase the number of Black men in the medical field by engaging youth football and basketball teams on Chicago's south and west sides.
Dressed in scrubs, volunteers from Sneakers to Scrubs visit schools and sports leagues offering training sessions on topics like concussion awareness and first aid while discussing various careers in medicine—a field their audiences may not have considered before.
"Someday, the ball stops bouncing for everyone, so student-athletes have to ask themselves what’s next," said Solomon Egbe, 24-year-old second-year Pritzker student and former Harvard University football player.
Egbe manages Sneakers to Scrubs alongside Alausa; Marcus Allen, also a second-year Pritzker student; and Lord Hyeamang from Rush Medical College. "The magic really happens when we put medicine as a career option in front of students who had never considered it before or thought it was a field not accessible to them," Egbe said. "As former athletes and men of color, we can relate to their experiences—we’ve walked that same path."
Despite Black people comprising roughly 12% of the U.S. population, only 5.7% are doctors according to 2022 data from the Association of American Medical Colleges.
Sneakers to Scrubs highlights potential roles such as nurses, therapists, technicians, and support staff. Since its launch last November, leaders have participated in about 60 events reaching 1,500 students through mentoring programs like summer camps and job shadowing.
The organization focuses on three groups: middle school athletes interested in medicine; high school athletes seeking exposure to medical jobs; and college athletes needing mentoring as they enter medical school.
For Iben King—who earned degrees while playing football at McKendree University—the support from Sneakers to Scrubs is invaluable. "They offer me help for my MCATs," said King, 25. "They check in on me... I hear back from them by the end of the day." King has also volunteered at events focused on CPR and wound care which he says is making him a better doctor already.
To broaden its impact further still beyond individual efforts alone requires collaboration with other nonprofits including Project Love Chicago (academic/job support) & MedCEEP founded by Abdullah Pratt MD Assistant Professor/Faculty Director Community Engagement Emergency Medicine Physician University Chicago Medicine: “We see ourselves bridge,” Alausa stated forming ecosystem among partners
In July three organizations joined forces hosting two-day violence prevention health fair UChicago Gerald Ratner Athletics Center featuring games clinics free supplies physicals Despite living nearby many participating students never set foot campus Level Adult Trauma Center located Divide illustrated attendance Shane Butler teen saved own life using tourniquet skills learned MedCEEP class accidentally shot himself gun friend house Supported recovery Sneakers Scrubs continuing connection healing ends Next step providing mentorship career exploration opportunities