San Diego Student Shares GI Disease Story, Wins Scholarship

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego native Alexander Myers has lived with Crohn's disease since he was 13 years old.

Five years after his diagnosis, his journey of living with a gastrointestinal disease has led to him being named one of the winners of the 2023 Salix Gastrointestinal Health Scholars Program. Salix Pharmaceuticals awarded $10,000 each to 10 students living with a GI disease.

"I am incredibly honored to receive this award and it honestly feels like a dream come true. My 13-year-old self would not have believed that the illness I had just been diagnosed with would take me on a journey of this magnitude," Myers told Patch. "For me, this award proves that oftentimes, the suffering that this disease causes can be outshined by the support that stems from the community."

The scholarship recipients were selected from more than 225 applicants. As part of the application process, students submitted essays that described how their GI condition has impacted their educational journey, as well as the role their health care provider played in helping them reach their personal and educational goals.

Myers was in middle school when he was diagnosed with Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel disease that causes chronic inflammation of the GI tract. It's estimated that more than half a million Americans are living with Crohn's disease, which can lead to abdominal pain, severe diarrhea, fatigue, weight loss and malnutrition, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Myers, who is from La Jolla, said his diagnosis came at a "pivotal point" in his life.

"I consider myself lucky to have found a medication that works for me so well, however, the journey to the point I'm at now was not necessarily an easy one," he said. "Through lots of trial and error, including trying a plethora of diets and medications, I slowly figured out what worked for me, but in the process, I missed out on a lot of experiences that your typical middle schooler would have. This was instead replaced by a series of harsh but important lessons on how to take care of myself and remain grateful for my health during the good times.

"I am so incredibly lucky to have my good health as well as having an incredible support system, all the way from my parents, to my friends, to my teachers, and last but not least, to my doctors that got me where I am today," he added. "If it was not for the patience and kindness of all these groups, much of what I have accomplished would not be possible."

The Salix Gastrointestinal Health Scholars Program awards scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees, as well as to parents and single parents pursuing degrees.

Myers was one of four students who received the undergraduate scholar award. The recent high school grad has started his first semester at Northwestern University in Illinois, where he is studying jazz performance as a drummer and wants to pursue a second major in cognitive science.

After earning his undergraduate degree, Myers plans to go to medical school and study psychiatry.

"Not only does the award feel extremely validating after going through the past five years, but it also will propel me into the future and aid me in realizing my professional aspirations and for that, I am eternally grateful," Myers said. "With all of the generosity and love that I have been shown, I wish to give back some of what I received through humanitarian work with aid organizations in my career, something which I believe will help change lives for the better in the way that the care I was shown impacted me."