Black in Flint: inspiring stories from our community-
A story of faith, education and purpose from Flint forward
By Keyshawna Haney
Featured photo: Flint native Keyshawna Haney stands in her white coat at Morehouse School of Medicine beside a portrait of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of her undergraduate alma mater, Bethune-Cookman University. The moment represents a full-circle connection between the institution where Haney earned her Bachelor of Science in Biology and the institution where she is completing her Master of Science in Biotechnology. Haney will graduate in December 2026 as she prepares for her next chapter—medical school and a career centered on preventive medicine, cancer research, innovation and service. Photo courtesy of Keyshawna Haney.
Standing in Atlanta at Morehouse School of Medicine and receiving my white coat was one of those moments that made me reflect on just how far the journey had taken me. While the ceremony represented an academic milestone, for me, the coat represented something much greater. I was standing there as a woman from Flint, Michigan, carrying with me every lesson, setback, prayer, opportunity and person who helped shape the woman I have become.
My journey has not been a perfectly straight path, and I believe that is part of what makes it meaningful.
Education has always been important to me, but life taught me early that pursuing a dream sometimes requires adjusting the route without abandoning the destination. Through different seasons of life, I continued returning to the vision I had for myself: to build a career that would allow me to combine science, medicine, service, innovation and my desire to make a meaningful difference in the lives of others.
In May 2024, I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology from Bethune-Cookman University. My undergraduate experience strengthened my foundation in the biological sciences and provided opportunities to participate in research and professional development. I also completed internship experiences at Hurley Medical Center, including laboratory and morgue settings, which allowed me to experience medicine and science from perspectives that extended far beyond the classroom.
My education did not stop there. I also completed training in pharmacy technology and EKG technology, including hands-on clinical experience, continuing to expand my healthcare knowledge while preparing for the larger goal ahead of me.
In January 2026, I began the Master of Science in Biotechnology program at Morehouse School of Medicine. Studying biotechnology has deepened my understanding of the science behind disease, genetics, therapeutics, drug development and emerging medical technologies. My academic interests have increasingly centered on cancer biology, genetics, and translational research—particularly how discoveries made in the laboratory can ultimately improve or even transform patients’ lives.
Receiving my white coat at Morehouse School of Medicine in September 2026 brought many pieces of that journey together. I will complete my master’s degree in December, but I do not view graduation as the finish line. My next goal is medical school and ultimately becoming a physician whose work bridges patient care, scientific research, prevention and innovation.
My long-term vision is to help broaden the scope of medicine by placing greater emphasis on prevention and identifying the underlying causes of disease. I want to practice medicine with the goal of helping patients achieve the greatest level of health and independence possible—not simply managing symptoms indefinitely. When medically appropriate and possible, I want to help people reach a place where they require fewer medications and less medical intervention. To me, success in medicine should not be measured by how long someone remains a patient, but by how effectively we can help that person become healthier.
Cancer research is particularly important to that vision. One of my long-term goals is to contribute to the development of medical technology designed to prevent or interrupt hereditary cancers before they can take hold. I am especially interested in the intersection of genetics, biotechnology and medical-device innovation and how these fields might be used to identify inherited cancer risk and develop new approaches to prevention. It is an ambitious goal, but I believe some of medicine’s greatest advances begin with asking whether something we currently accept as inevitable can one day become preventable.
For me, becoming a physician is therefore about more than earning the title of doctor. I want to participate in changing what medicine can accomplish—from treating disease after it appears to understanding its origins, intervening earlier, and ultimately giving people greater freedom to live healthy lives.
At the same time, my definition of health and success extends beyond medicine.
My professional career in financial services has allowed me to see firsthand how financial stability can affect nearly every aspect of a person’s life. Financial stress does not exist in isolation; it can influence families, opportunities, mental well-being, access to resources and the choices people are able to make for their future. Those experiences helped me recognize financial wellness as another important component of strengthening communities.
That perspective inspired me to establish Key2Wealth Enterprises LLC, a business centered on financial education, credit improvement and helping individuals better understand how to build and manage their financial futures. The philosophy behind Key2Wealth is simple: “The key to wealth is wisdom.” My goal is not simply to help someone address a financial problem in the present, but to provide knowledge that can contribute to better decisions and greater opportunities in the future.
For me, Key2Wealth and medicine are not competing dreams. They are connected by the same purpose. I believe helping communities thrive requires looking at the whole person. Physical health matters.
Mental and emotional wellness matter. Financial stability matters. Education matters. Faith matters. Access to resources matters. My long-term vision is to use the different areas of knowledge and experience I have gained to help people become healthier and stronger in more than one dimension of their lives.
Flint has played an important role in shaping that perspective.
Our community is often discussed through the lens of what has happened to us. While those stories deserve to be told, so do the stories of what continues to come from us.
Flint is filled with intelligent, creative, resilient, educated, entrepreneurial and service-minded people who continue to accomplish extraordinary things while remaining connected to their community.
I want young people from Flint—especially those whose journey may not look perfect on paper—to understand that a detour does not have to become a destination. You can change directions. You can begin again. You can return to school. You can discover a new purpose. You can build something that did not exist before you. And you do not have to limit yourself to one dream.
Faith has remained central throughout my own journey. There have been moments when I could clearly see what was happening and others when I simply had to trust God with the next step. Looking back, some of the experiences that once seemed disconnected now make sense as preparation.
My white coat represents one milestone in that preparation.
When I put it on, I did not only see where I am today. I thought about the little girl who had dreams before she understood what they would require. I thought about the woman who had to keep choosing those dreams through different seasons of life. I thought about my family, my community, the people who encouraged me, and the responsibility that comes with being given opportunities others may still be fighting to reach.
Most importantly, I thought about what comes next.
I am proud to be from Flint. I am proud of what I have accomplished, but I am even more excited about what I will be able to do with it. My goal is not simply to earn another degree or eventually place “M.D.” behind my name. My goal is to use education as a tool—to serve, to discover, to advocate, to innovate, to create opportunities and to help communities like the one that helped create me.
The white coat may have been placed on my shoulders in Atlanta, but a piece of Flint was wearing it with me.
