In 2005, Javad Azadi received news that transformed his life: He had earned The Ohio State University's Morrill Scholarship, funding that would allow him to afford college. Now, nearly two decades later and established as a prominent radiologist, Dr. Azadi is giving back, starting the Azadi Educational Fund with ODI to provide scholarships and opportunities for students like himself.
Azadi grew up in Coshocton, a small town on the edge of Appalachia in eastern Ohio. His father was an Iranian immigrant living in Houston, and Azadi was raised by his single mother, a Coshocton native who struggled to hold down a job.
“People generally don't escape that. Whether it's teenage pregnancy, alcohol abuse, drug abuse, or going to jail, you get derailed. So growing up, because of where I came from, I was written off from the start,” Azadi explained.
However, Azadi refused to accept a life of poverty as his fate. “I took it as a personal mission to better myself,” Azadi said. “I was like, ‘I'm going to go to college; I'm going to get an education; I'm going to get a job to make sure I always have food in the house and clean clothes to wear.'”
A high achiever in high school, Azadi gambled his savings on Ohio State's application fee, believing the university would provide him with the most opportunities. However, he had no plan for paying for his education—until he was notified that he'd been selected for the Morrill Scholarship Program.
“I felt like a caged bird, and the cage finally opened, and I was able to stretch my wings and fly,” Azadi commented. “That moment was so transformative, and it led me to where I am today.”
Empowered by ODI's support, Azadi vowed to become a doctor, a career that combined his interest in medicine with his desire for financial security. While studying biochemistry at Ohio State in the Honors Program, Azadi served as an ODI chemistry tutor and volunteered regularly at the Wexner Medical Center. He also studied Farsi and founded the Persian Language Club, a forerunner to today's Persian Student Association, as he got more in touch with his Iranian heritage.
After graduating in 2009, Azadi completed medical school and a residency at Johns Hopkins University, pursuing a career in radiology. He is now Chief of Ultrasound at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore and an Assistant Professor in the Johns Hopkins University radiology department. However, he says the skills he learned at Ohio State remain crucial to his success, especially as he treats patients with backgrounds different from his own.
“Ohio State taught me how to connect with people across the world. I come from a racially homogenous part of Ohio, but the world is a very diverse place. At Ohio State, I became very comfortable communicating with people across the world and understanding that we all have shared experiences,” Azadi explained. “That's an important skill in medicine.”
Now settled in Baltimore with kids of his own, Azadi hopes to provide scholarships through his newly launched fund for future Ohio State students who, like himself, feel trapped by their circumstances.
“This is for underrepresented students; it's for poorer students; it's for students who—if given the opportunity—will succeed,” Azadi noted. “I owe everything about where I am today to my experiences at Ohio State, and I feel like this is how I can give back.”
He says his key to success was believing in himself when others did not, and he hopes scholarship recipients will do the same. “Even if people who you think are on your side are saying you can't succeed, that isn't necessarily true,” Azadi said. “You have to prove to yourself that you can or you can't—and if you try your best, chances are, you can.”