A Q&A with Dr. Renita Eason ’98

Hailing from the GPS Class of 1998, Dr. Renita Eason completed her undergraduate education degree at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she received a Bachelor of Science in biology with a minor in Spanish. She then graduated from medical school at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine in Memphis in 2006. Next, she moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, to train in family medicine and later joined the staff at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she was named Associate Medical Director in 2014.

Q. Did you always know you wanted to be a doctor? 
A. I knew I wanted to be a doctor at 15 years old, but 10 years later I figured out what kind of doctor I wanted to be. I attended a conference while in medical school for the American College Health Association. I went to medical school thinking I would work in private practice, but this conference showed me a discipline that worked with other nonmedical disciplines to promote health and wellbeing on a college campus. I was drawn to the passion, intent, and fun that seemed innate to the attendees, and they testified that the atmosphere of the conference reflected their workspaces.  

Q. Why are you passionate about what you do?
A. I'm passionate about what I do because I've cultivated my interests and skills into a life and career that challenge me and bring me joy.

Q. What was your favorite tradition at GPS? Why?
A. Surprisingly, the uniform—I wasn't much of a dress or skirt girl before enrolling.

Q. Do you stay in touch with your classmates? What impact have they had on your life?
A. I may only see my classmates at our reunions, but lessons learned from friendships while at GPS definitely guided me to robust, healthy, supportive adult friendships that I have now.

Q. Can you point to anything that GPS did to prepare you for your future?
A. Having daily work requirements and the need to balance school and extracurricular activities along with family life helped me develop organizational skills and habits I still use, like color coding notes for my meetings and using multiple apps and notebooks to organize my life.

Q. Why is Black History Month important to you and why is it important that we acknowledge and honor the month here at GPS?
A. Black History Month is important to foster learning, connection, and understanding. When commonalities or shared ideas and experiences don’t exist, we can connect through history, curiosity, and caring about another person and their ideas, experiences, and culture. Black History Month is a gateway to safe, open exploration and discussion of history and important lives that are known to some, but not all.