November 13, 2023 | Glendale, AZ
On November 2, more than 100 MWU student mentors and more than 60 undergraduate students from Arizona State University, Arizona State University – West, Grand Canyon University, Estrella Mountain Community College, and the Arizona Agribusiness Equine Center came together on the Midwestern University Glendale Campus for the second annual Women in Medicine and Science Mentorship (WIMS) Program kick-off event.
Originally started in 2022, this program was designed to pair local undergraduate female pre-health students with an MWU student mentor to help them prepare for graduate school. The mentors and mentee participants convened on campus to find their match based on the career the undergraduate student is most interested in pursuing or learning more about.
Over the course of the 2023-2024 school year, the mentors and mentees will meet once a month to discuss various topics pertaining to graduate school and careers in healthcare. Some of these topics include tips on how to get shadowing experience, how to prepare for interviews, and graduate admissions test taking. The MWU student mentors also talk to their mentees about more personal things – how they balance their studies with the rest of their life, how their own personal life experiences led them to where they are now, and how they initially chose their field of study.
After being paired with one another, the mentors and mentees heard a panel of MWU faculty speak about their own experiences as women in medicine and science. This year’s presenters were Suzanne O’Neal, D.P.T., D.H.Sc., PT, Associate Professor, Physical Therapy, College of Health Sciences; Erin Raney, Pharm.D., BCPS, Professor, Pharmacy Practice, College of Pharmacy, Glendale Campus; Elizabeth Escobedo, O.D., Associate Professor, Eye Institute, Arizona College of Optometry; Mitra Esfandiarei, Ph.D., Professor, Biomedical Science, College of Graduate Studies; and Alexandra Goe, D.V.M., DACZM, Clinical Associate Professor, College of Veterinary Medicine. In addition to talking about their own lived experiences, the faculty answered questions from the undergraduate mentees such as how to get involved in research opportunities and how they overcame any struggles they may have faced.
This program's goal is to provide so much more for the undergraduate mentees than just guidance on how to prepare for graduate school. Through closely working with their MWU student mentors, the mentees will develop confidence and clarity, and through this, the skills to succeed in whichever career path they choose to pursue.
