NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- By most standards, Dr. Thomas Gaiter is a success. For 20 years, he's been the chief medical officer at Howard University in Washington D.C., where he's considered an expert on the H1N1 virus.

Watch This Story

A return to the poor north Nashville neighborhood where he grew up was a flashback to his humble start, living in a run-down house with his six brothers and sisters, raised by parents who never finished the fourth grade.

"They still had principles, and principles all of us at that time needed to live by," Gaiter said.

A plastic doctor kit given to him by his mother when he was 6 years old helped him learn what he wanted to do with his life.

"I began to go around to my sisters and brothers and kind of listen to their hearts," he said.

Friday, Gaiter returned to Buena Vista Elementary, where 94 percent of the students are below the poverty line.

Gaiter finished college at Tennessee State University and attended medical school at Meharry Medical College. He will be the grand marshal Saturday at TSU's homecoming.

"If you stay focused and true to your belief, you'll make it," Gaiter said. "Out of this neighborhood or any other neighborhood like it, individuals can achieve if they have the heart and the will to do so."