Faith Blamon’s rise from Trenton youth programs to surgical training reflects the power of mentorship and community investment

When Faith Blamon stepped to the podium at the State Theatre in New Jersey to deliver the commencement address for the graduating class of Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, she would not be standing there alone.

In her heart, she said, she carries Trenton with her.

“There is a spotlight on me,” Blamon said, “but it’s really my way to pay homage to the people who built the person that I am to get to this place.”

Born in Liberia and brought to the United States at just four years old in 1999, Blamon grew up in Trenton as the second of five children in a hardworking immigrant family searching for greater opportunity. Nearly two decades after leaving the capital city, the memories, mentors, and community that shaped her still guide her journey.

This spring, Blamon graduated from Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School as student government president for the Class of 2026. She was selected to deliver the school’s graduation address, titled “Standing on the Shoulders of Giants,” in front of one of the largest graduating medical school classes in the country.

For Blamon, the speech is deeply personal.

Included among the “giants” she honored in her address were teachers, mentors, coaches, church leaders, family members, and community figures from Trenton who helped shape her understanding of leadership, compassion, and service.

One of those mentors was Mr. Green, her fifth-grade teacher at Hedgepeth-Williams Middle School and an instructor in the former Weed and Seed after-school program.

“He taught me how to respect people in the community,” Blamon said. “You address people by their names. Everyone has something to give.”

Blamon attended Paul Robeson Elementary School, Granville Charter School, and Hedgepeth-Williams before her family moved out of Trenton in 2008. During her childhood, she participated in the Weed and Seed program, which later became SCOOP, as well as the Trenton Educational Dance Institute (TEDI), track and field, spelling bees, and public speaking clubs.

Those programs became a lifeline for many children in the city, especially for families like hers.

“My parents worked constantly,” she said. “Those after-school programs gave us homework help, adult supervision, opportunities to interact with friends, and exposure to activities we otherwise would not have had access to.”

Blamon’s earliest memories of America were also tied to hospitals.

After arriving in the United States, she experienced medical complications that left her in and out of hospitals as a child. Spending time around doctors and nurses inspired her to pursue medicine at a young age.

“My earliest memories were being in the hospital,” she recalled.

At the same time, she remembers the warmth of her neighborhood on Quinton Avenue — riding bikes, playing double dutch in the summer, and being embraced by Trenton’s Liberian community.

“It was the strongest sense of community and camaraderie I’ve felt amongst any community I’ve been in since,” Blamon told the Trenton Journal.

Still, she also witnessed difficult moments growing up in the city during a period marked by violence and gang activity.

“There were moments of fear. There were certain streets that we avoided,” she said. “I was too young to fully understand it, but I remember gang initiation season. Trenton became quieter and more somber. We heard stories and saw people with injuries to prove it. I lost family members and some friends to gang violence. However, that doesn’t define the entire community.”

Blamon says her upbringing also gave her a unique perspective as an African immigrant growing up in America.

Speaking Koloqua, a dialect from Liberia, and navigating both African and Black American cultures shaped her identity and worldview.

“Africans are sometimes pitted against Black Americans,” she said. “We are not each other’s enemies.”

That message of unity has become central to her mission. After graduating from Cinnaminson High School in 2012, Blamon attended Monmouth University, where she competed in NCAA Division I track and field. She earned Junior All-American honors, qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, and competed at the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Even while balancing athletics and academics, she remained connected to Trenton through her church, Harvest Intercontinental Ministries Unlimited on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

She later earned a master’s degree from Drexel University and partnered with her church to launch a daycare, after-school program, and summer camp in 2019 — an initiative inspired by the same opportunities she received through Weed and Seed as a child.

The program continues to provide free meals, affordable childcare, and academic support to local families.

While in medical school, Blamon also organized community health fairs in Trenton, bringing together organizations including the City of Trenton Health Department. Another health fair is already planned for September 2026 and is expected to include employment opportunities alongside healthcare resources. Blamon says her ultimate goal is bigger than personal achievement.

“My goal is to continue to uplift the Black community and make myself a resource so that people who may not see themselves represented in certain fields know that they can achieve whatever they set their minds to,” she said.

Following graduation, Blamon, who recently got married, will remain in New Jersey as she enters surgical training. She also plans to continue coordinating global surgery initiatives in Liberia through Harvest Church to improve access to surgical care in West Africa.

“Hardship does not have to be the end of your story. Depending on how you approach it, that hardship can become the very thing that shapes your purpose. If we strive to leave people and places better than how we found them, our hardships simply become character tests that can one day become a testimony. I hope my story reflects that.”