In the book “The Pact” three young men grew up on the rough streets of Newark, New Jersey, Streets of crime, violence, and most of all hopelessness. For these three young men, the beginning of the rest of their lives starts when they make a pact to all go to medical school and become doctors. Considering the background that these men are from, this seems impossible. Breaking into the medical field also seemed impossible for Elizabeth Blackwell, who is now recognized as being the first female doctor. Just like the three men from Newark, Blackwell achieved her goal of becoming a doctor in spite of all the discrimination, with dedication and support from friends and family.

After being accepted to the Geneva medical program, Dr. Blackwell found that it was not her fellow male students that discriminated against her, but the women who lived in the small town. She states that “she knew eventually that the other women in the town found her odd, so she kept to herself using the school like a refuge from the negativity” (Schlesinger). There were so …show more content…
Blackwell’s family could not have been any more supportive of her decision to go to medical school. Elizabeth’s father believed that his daughters were fully capable of becoming educated and did everything in his power to see that all of his children were successful. Blackwell also had very supportive brothers that drove her back and forth from school, so she could get her education (Schlesinger). Often times when students are in school they will not only need emotional support but they will need financial support. In the book, George’s mom got a part time job along with the job she already worked to help him pay for his tuition. There were also times that George’s aunts and uncles pitched in money to help pay for his expenses. From the support of Elizabeth’s and George’s families, they were able to overcome obstacles that seemed