

Alumni Spotlight
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Yasmine Ali, MD
I attended St. Patrick School through all eight grades, and graduated in 1989. When I think back on my time at SPS, I always think of the incredible foundation I received there, which really has helped to get me where I am today. For example, our English teachers were unbeatable, and the excellent grammar instruction I received allowed me to go on to become the TN State Beta Club English Champion in high school, a summa cum laude graduate at Vanderbilt University, an award-winning writer, and now a bestselling author (with Walk through Fire: The Train Disaster that Changed America, about the Waverly Train Disaster of 1978).
The foundation I received in science, math, and social studies at SPS—especially under Coach Terry Coleman, who taught those subjects from my 5th- through 8th-grade years—allowed me to become a member of the first Waverly Central High School science team to place second at the TN Tech Science bowl, to become the Freed-Hardeman state social studies champion in high school, to win
first place in the Middle TN Science Fair, to graduate summa cum laude in history and molecular biology at Vanderbilt, to become one of only 10 early-acceptance students (as a college sophomore) to Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, to graduate from VUSM with honors as a Doctor of Medicine (MD), to go on to obtain yet another Vandy degree—a Master of Science in Clinical Investigation (MSCI)—and to become the first cardiology fellow at Vanderbilt to specialize in advanced cardiac imaging.
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During my cardiology fellowship, I also became one of the first physicians in the country to qualify as a Diplomate of the American Board of Clinical Lipidology (the study of cholesterol). I am also believed to be the first female American of Palestinian descent to become a cardiologist in the United States. After that, I became Director of Echocardiography and Director of Preventive Cardiology at Meharry Nashville General Hospital, and then started my own cardiology practice, Nashville Preventive Cardiology, PLLC, shortly thereafter.
All this because I got my start at St. Patrick School!
And now I’ve begun a new venture as a creative entrepreneur. Through my business, LastSky Writing, LLC, I focus on promoting positive living, both through health and mindset, with the goal of helping others live happier, healthier, longer. Those who want to learn more—and to keep up with my latest projects and offerings—can visit my website at www.yasminealimd.com. I will also be releasing my debut novel, The View from the Cliffs, this October, and it relies heavily on Irish history—an interest that also started for me at St. Patrick. One of the early reviewers has commented specifically on my “command of the English language.”
And guess where I got that foundation? At St. Patrick School.
There was an advertisement on television several years ago that featured the line, “If we didn’t have teachers, where would doctors come from?” That has stuck with me, and it has made me reflect on how fortunate I was to have such amazing teachers at SPS. Ms. Mary Margaret Lagan (then Sujdak), Coach Terry Coleman, Ms. Ann Rickert, and Sister Mary Albert, Sister Margaret Mary, Sister Mary Martin, Sister Mary Kevin, and Sister Mary Angelina. I could go on for
several pages about every single one of them, but as time and space are limited, here is just one story:
I have been proud to remain friends with the Dominican Sisters over the years. My first Dominican friend, perhaps, was SPS Principal Sister Mary Albert, who encouraged my academic work and also supported me whenever I felt I was too much of a “nerd.” She would remind me not to worry about what anyone else thought, that I was doing good work, and to keep on the right path. I think that lesson has stayed with me throughout my life.
Sister Mary Albert ran a read-a-thon when I was in the 7th grade, where we got people to pledge a certain amount per book read, and the student who read the most books would receive a prize. I read 100 books! I wanted that prize, whatever it might be, but more than that, I wanted to see how many books I could read—plus, it was a lot of fun! I loved reading and still do.
The prize was a beautiful, leather-bound book with gold-sprayed edges, Library of World Poetry. I still have it in a place of prominence on one of my bookshelves. On the inside cover, Sister Mary Albert had inscribed: “November 24, 1987. To Yasmine, In gratitude for your contribution to the Read-a-Thon. It is a pleasure having you in my classes.”
I don’t think I can overstate how much something like that means to an 11-year-old child. And that’s the kind of support I felt from all my teachers throughout my years at St. Patrick.

I can’t imagine a better grade-school education than the well-rounded one I received at SPS, one which grounded me in both life and academics, and put me on the path to success very early on. I was so fortunate to have that SPS education. I think so much of it, in fact, that there are only two certificates that sit on my desk. I have earned many certificates and credentials and degrees over the course of my life, but the only two that are on my desk are these: my graduation diploma from St. Patrick School (1989, signed by Sr. Mary Albert and Father Charles Ney), and my diploma from Waverly Central High School (1993). That’s how much they mean to me.
I don’t think any parent can go wrong by sending their child or children to SPS. The education and foundation I received there have certainly served me well throughout my life.