Las Vegas City Wire

A first-year medical student at the University of Nevada Las Vegas’ Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine has overcome numerous obstacles in her life in order to find a better future.

When Linsey Golding, 25, was growing up, she had to overcome the disruption of being placed in four foster homes after social services in California concluded that she was safer in the foster system than living with her own parents, according to a the UNLV News Center.

“After I was adopted and stopped attending court hearings, I finally got my first perfect attendance award. It was something so small to others but meant the world to me,” Golding told UNLV News Center.

Being in foster care was an eye-opening experience as well, as Golding said that the people fostering children in the system could be in it for a range of reasons -- for money, to be abusive or to help needy children.  

Her experiences in foster care didn’t deter her from pursuing her passion for health care. She moved to Nevada when she was 12 years old after her great-aunt and great-uncle adopted her. She appreciated the stability her adoptive parents, who worked as an electronics technician and a buyer for defense contractors.

According to Golding, “When I was in foster care, I had never learned how to socialize properly with other kids because I moved around so much and still hadn’t quite figured it out in high school. Each foster family had its own set of rules. I kept to myself a lot, and schoolwork was something I was good at, something that made me feel good. I just never learned how to make conversation easily or how to respond to social cues, but years of therapy helped me a lot from where I was.”