University of the Pacific swimmer Macy Coad was one of 34 recipients selected in 2026 for the $20,000 national AbbVie Immunology Scholarship, which she received for the second consecutive year. Coad lives with juvenile idiopathic arthritis, according to Gold Mountain California News.
Funding her medical-school goal
Coad plans to use the scholarship to help keep her family’s savings available for medical school. She hopes to become a physician who treats children with chronic health conditions, Gold Mountain California News reports.
Medical school costs and debt
According to AAMC, the median four-year cost of attendance for the graduating class of 2026 was $297,745 at public medical schools and $408,150 at private schools. AAMC data also show that 70% of medical-school graduates in the Class of 2025 had education debt, with a median of $215,000 among graduates with debt.
Coad is majoring in health and exercise science at Pacific, according to the university’s profile. She graduated from Granite Bay High School in 2025 and joined Pacific’s women’s swim team with a partial athletic scholarship, Gold Mountain California News reports.
Collegiate swimming and advocacy
During her freshman season, Coad recorded times of 2:06.43 in the 200 backstroke, 1:00.28 in the 100 individual medley and 2:08.70 in the 200 individual medley at the MPSF Championships. She placed second in the 100 IM final, according to University of the Pacific Athletics.
Coad’s fundraising for the Arthritis Foundation grew from an experience at age nine, when she attended the organization’s JA Kids Camp in Livermore and met other children with juvenile arthritis. Her mother started the Macy’s Parade fundraising campaign, which Coad and her family have since used to raise more than $300,000 for the foundation, according to the University of the Pacific profile.
