{"id":677,"date":"2026-06-19T19:01:28","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=677"},"modified":"2026-06-19T19:01:28","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T19:01:28","slug":"san-antonio-surgeon-introduces-kids-to-medical-careers-at-old-spurs-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sanantoniomovingreport.com\/?p=677","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio surgeon introduces kids to medical careers at old Spurs\u2019 center"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Growing up, Dr. Antonio Webb said he didn\u2019t see a lot of Black doctors.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In fact, only 5% of physicians in the country are Black. The numbers are even scarcer in San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Father\u2019s Day specials: a $500 burger at St. Anthony Hotel, burger showdown at Pearl<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important for kids to see something that they want to become,\u201d Webb said. \u201cSo I told myself once I became a doctor that I would try to do everything I can to reach back and help as many people get to the point where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now a top-rated spinal surgeon who often works with the San Antonio Spurs, Webb wants to change the experience of kids not seeing themselves represented and encourage students to consider careers in healthcare.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Hailing from Shreveport, Louisiana, Webb grew up in a family afflicted by gang violence, drugs and the justice system. Wanting to break the cycle, he graduated high school with honors and promptly joined the military. <\/p>\n

After an eight-year military career, he completed medical school, residency and a fellowship, eventually becoming one of the founding partners at the South Texas Surgical and Speciality Group, located in San Antonio.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In 2014, he even wrote \u201cOvercoming the Odds,\u201d documenting his journey from the streets of Louisiana, to his military service in Iraq, to his path in becoming a celebrated surgeon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take anything for granted,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI know I am incredibly blessed.\u201d <\/p>\n

But his journey has also been a front-row seat to the gaps in access and lack of exposure to careers in medicine for high-needs students. <\/p>\n

A frequent student mentor, Webb partnered with Spurs Sports and Entertainment and the Webb Family Foundation to host a health careers fair for a mix of local high school and college students on June 6.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Webb\u2019s fair was held at the Spurs Impact Center, the NBA basketball team\u2019s old training grounds currently under renovation to be more of a community hub. <\/p>\n

Physicians and students from across San Antonio spread out throughout the building, from the practice court to the board rooms and the team\u2019s old locker room.<\/p>\n

Patricia Mejia, chief impact and inclusion officer for SS&E, said the Impact Center\u2019s purpose is to host leaders like Webb who want to give back, especially in the fields of workforce development, science, technology, engineering and math.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been over the past couple of years trying to combine STEM and basketball, using basketball as an entry point, but not the end result,\u201d Mejia said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While several education groups and leaders in San Antonio are already working on improving academic and career outcomes in a city with a stubborn poverty rate, the Spurs Impact Center is banking on its household brand and name recognition to leave a lasting impression on those that walk through its doors.<\/p>\n

When students and community members walk into the impact center for different trainings and programs, Mejia said \u201cthey learn different. They hear differently.<\/p>\n

\u201c<\/strong>Because they\u2019re like, \u2018oh my God, I matter as much as Ginobili.’\u201d<\/p>\n

A day of career exploration<\/h4>\n

As part of the day\u2019s events, students were taken into the old Spurs locker room and the old video room, where the team would rewatch and analyze plays. Once the stomping grounds of past and current Spurs, these spaces now serve as intimate settings where students and community members can draw inspiration. <\/p>\n

Split into rotating workshops, Saturday\u2019s event gave students a diverse taste of what health care careers look like, featuring orthopedic residents, optometrists, cardiologists, medicine technology sales reps, sports medicine physicians with private practices and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a board room with a direct view of the old Spurs practice court, orthopedic residents from UT Health San Antonio guide students through suturing a fake rubber skin.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Bria Chritien, 32, takes to suturing quickly. A full-time mom of two, and one of the more non-traditional students at the fair, she\u2019s currently taking prerequisite courses at St. Philip\u2019s College and plans to be a pediatric oncologist.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Chritien wants to go into pediatric medicine because of her own experience with her children\u2019s health issues. While she\u2019s closer to the start than the end of her education journey, she\u2019s set on getting as much hands-on experience as possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Orthopedic resident Katerina Papanikolaou guides Bria through a simple interrupted suture. Before helping Chritien, Papanikolaou taught the method to a couple of new grads from O\u2019Connor High School.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cTake your pickups or needle driver,\u201d Papanikolaou kicks off the suturing lesson. \u201cThis is the straight one, and you\u2019re gonna pinch the needle, so it\u2019s like perpendicular like this, and then you think all should click.\u201d<\/p>\n

She demonstrates and students follow.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Next door, Dr. Angela Garza demonstrates how to use a direct ophthalmoscope, a handheld medical device used to examine the inside structure of eyes.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Garza, a licensed therapeutic optometrist, founded EYES of Cresta Bella in 2020. Like many current San Antonio students, she was a first-generation college grad.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am hoping to convince all of you that you need to go into eye care, because it\u2019s a lot of fun, it\u2019s a lot of work, but it\u2019s very rewarding,\u201d Garza tells a small group of students.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Selasie Gifa-Johnson is part of the group. He\u2019s a biochemistry senior at the University of Texas San Antonio hailing from Canada.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While he\u2019s always known he wants to be a doctor, Gifa-Johnson became more interested in the spine after shadowing Webb a few times.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWatching Dr. Webb \u2014 it\u2019s really cool because you can see the people in their pain,\u201d Gifa-Johnson recalled. \u201cTo see him be able to go in and do a surgery and then, like, alleviate a person\u2019s pain to a massive degree.\u201d<\/p>\n

A few feet away on the basketball court, one physician guides students through CPR on a dummy, another shows onlookers how to use an ultrasound, and orthopedic surgeons demonstrate fastening screws into fake leg bones.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Across the court, sports medicine doctors talk students through their unique jobs, from working with patients in the comfort of their own private offices to working the sidelines of pro games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The physicians in attendance all came at Webb\u2019s request.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Dr. Wayne Lee, an orthopedic surgeon who often works with athletes, noted that less than 2% of orthopedic surgeons are Black and even fewer are women.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cBut getting students into ortho is a specialized ask\u2026 It\u2019s important to get them interested in health care first,\u201d Lee said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

While education experts are pushing for career exploration and college exposure at an earlier and earlier age, Webb says there\u2019s value in connecting with older students in high school and college. He plans to keep putting on these kinds of events and expanding them to more locations and students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s a good age where you can come in at a pivotal point for them,\u201d Webb said. \u201cI didn\u2019t know about becoming a physician or anything about medicine until I was high school\u2026 I think you can see it, you can believe it, and you can actually achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Juneteenth Parade organizer Oscar Vicks says event is about \u2018freedom, equality and justice for all\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

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\nREAD MORE<\/span>
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San Antonio surgeon introduces kids to medical careers at old Spurs\u2019 center<\/h3>\n
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\nby<\/span> Xochilt Garcia<\/span> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n


\n<\/article>\n

\n<\/p>\n
\n

UTSA earns final accreditation after merging with UT Health San Antonio<\/h3>\n
\n
\nby<\/span> Danya P\u00e9rez<\/span> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n

\n<\/div>\n


\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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