Trinity Brigham has long had an interest in medicine.
“It began with my own family. My granny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease around the time I was born, so I never really got to know her,” says the incoming University of Colorado School of Medicine student. “Then, in high school, my aunt got lung cancer. She never smoked a day in her life. From there, my interest really started to grow because I was curious about so many aspects of these diseases and why certain diseases impact some people and not others.”
Over the next several years as a medical student, Brigham will continue to dive into these questions that have shaped her path and begin putting together the pieces she’s already accumulated on her journey to becoming a physician.
After graduating with a degree in chemistry and minors in Spanish, health, and biology from Prairie View A&M University in Texas, Brigham channeled her interest in medicine into a master’s degree of public health in epidemiology from the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
Now, it’s time to lay the groundwork on the clinical piece, Brigham says. On July 25, Brigham will join 183 fellow incoming students for the Class of 2029 Matriculation Ceremony, officially marking the first steps into her next chapter.
For the love of family
In many ways, medical school will be a homecoming for Brigham, who grew up in Aurora. After six years away, she’ll once again be close to many of the family members who have influenced her decision to seek a future in medicine.
“My family is very important to me, and they have such a big influence in what I’m passionate about,” she says.
For example, Brigham was involved in pancreatic cancer research at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center because she has a family history of cancer. She also completed an internship focused on diabetes and pregnancy at the Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus because the condition also has affected family members.
“Everything I do is really driven by my love and passion for them,” she says.
Left: Trinity Brigham, incoming medical student, poses with her parents at her college graduation. Right: A photo of Trinity Brigham with her aunt, whose cancer diagnosis inspired Brigham's journey to medicine.
As a child, Brigham watched the hectic schedule her mom, a hospitalist, had. It was difficult to picture life as a physician then, but now, she says she sees a plethora of opportunities to make the career her own.
“It takes so much passion to do the job that my mom did,” she says. “That’s what I really have taken from watching her through her career. I’ve always loved how much she loved what she was doing, so I knew that no matter what I ended up doing, I wanted to be happy in the field the way my mom was happy in hers. She influenced to me to choose a path that I really care about.”
A future at CU
Brigham’s family has taken her interests down many paths, from public health, to cancer research, to women’s health, and more. In medical school, however, she says she’s ready to start honing those interests into something more specific.
“I’m hoping these four years are an opportunity to finding the right balance between everything I love doing,” she says. “Maybe I’ll be able to narrow it down a little bit, but I want to find myself somewhere at the intersection of public health and being a physician. The goal, really, is just helping people.”
The CU School of Medicine has become the ideal place for that.
“I’m ready to take advantage of every opportunity I can,” Brigham says. “It’s exciting to be here and build new relationships, learn new things, and have new experiences.”
