Queen’s University International Medical Student Uses Fundraiser to Pay Tuition – Kingston | The Canadian News

An international student at Queen’s University was unable to pay tuition when his parents in Ecuador ran into financial problems.

That is why he counted on the generosity of others, and so far the community has responded.

“I will trust that people care about my story,” says Gilmar Gutiérrez.

“I will trust that people will resonate with me.”

Gutiérrez is a fourth-year medical student.

He wants to stay in Kingston and finish his studies here, but COVID may have changed those plans.

“I have been able to pay the first three years of tuition with the help of my parents, bank loans and even family friends,” says Gutiérrez.

“During my last year of enrollment, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation for my parents has been very difficult. Your business can’t make that much money to cover my senior year tuition. “

Now Gutiérrez, who is currently interning at Providence Care, has taken to social media and created a GoFundMe campaign for himself.

Trend stories

• 

  Strong fireballs shoot through the night sky of central Alberta

• 

  Woman who had been stalked in Vancouver is brutally attacked in Mexico

By late Wednesday afternoon, the fund had reached about $ 43,000.

“The response has been absolutely incredible,” says Gutiérrez.

“I have no words to express how grateful I am to everyone who has already donated, to the people who have shared the story, and I was honestly surprised.”

Dr. Megan Yang is one of dozens of donors, and she is also someone who has witnessed Gutierrez in action.

“I really want him to be able to be successful because he wants to stay in Canada and psychiatry is a neglected field,” says Dr. Yang, a psychiatrist at the Kingston Health Sciences Center.

“Having someone so exceptional who can practice would be a great benefit to so many people.”

Dr. Yang, who has worked alongside Gutiérrez, has nothing but praise for the fourth-year medical student.

“I worked with Gilmar as both a supervisor and a medical student, and he is also a student in our psychotherapy lab,” says Dr. Yang.

“So I’ve had a lot of interactions with him and I really find him to be absolutely exceptional in a very holistic way. – Both his knowledge and intelligence, his professionalism and his humanistic qualities are exceptional. Every once in a while you see this exceptional type of person and you really want him to succeed. “

Gutiérrez plans to stay in Canada and one day prove that all his donors are right – who backed a winner.