Premedical Summer Opportunities Panel

Tuesday, December 4th
7:00 - 8:30
313 Fayerweather

It's already time to think about what you will do this summer. Come to get tips about how to begin your search for summer opportunities and hear from your premedical peers who have each had interesting and rewarding summer experiences. This is a program not to be missed.

This program is co-sponsored by the Office of Preprofessional Advising and CU AMSA

PLEASE REGISTER for this event at:
http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/preprofessional/health/events.php


Here is a sampling of our panelists:

Amanda Lynn Hernandez, CC '08
Neuroscience and Behavior
Breakthrough Collaborative/SURF/Independent Research

Amanda will discuss how she spent 3 of her college summers. In the summer of 2005 Amanda participated in Breakthrough Collaborative which has a mission to have students teaching students. Breakthrough is much like Teach for America, but only for college students. As a teacher for Breakthrough you receive a stipend for the 10-12 weeks in addition to an Americoprs voucher.


Grace Iona A. Jama-Adan, CC '08
Women's and Gender Studies
Ronald E. McNair Fellows Program
http://www.studentaffairs.columbia.edu/asp/programs/mcnair.php

Grace will discuss her experience as a McNair fellow. The McNair program is intended to support undergraduate students from low-income or underrepresented backgrounds as well as those students who are first-generation college students interested in research and graduate education. Participants prepare to enter doctoral and master's programs by completing a summer research project in their field of interest under the guidance of a faculty advisor. This program is appropriate for those premed students considering a combined degree (MD/PhD, DDS/PhD, DVM/PhD)


Rachel Belt, CC '08
International Politics
Intern for the Research Advisor in the Tuberculosis Department at the World Health Organization (Geneva)
http://www.who.int/tb/en http://www.stoptb.org/researchmovement

Rachel will discuss her summer in Geneva working for the WHO where she learned how the medical field works on a very macro level. Although the internship was public health oriented, Rachel indicates that her science knowledge came in handy, as she was working for the research advisor.

During the course of the summer Rachel wrote a paper that surveyed the research and development field for new TB diagnostics, vaccines and drugs that is to be published through the WHO. This involved a lot of reading and interviewing but all of it interesting.

Rachel has also been volunteering for Doctors Without Borders for the past two years and she is more than willing to talk about this experience as well.


Jane Liu, CC '09
Biology and Psychology Major
Columbia Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) http://www.columbia.edu/cu/biology/ug/surf/

Jane will discuss her summer experience working in a lab at SURF. She feels fortunate to have been able to continue her research during the academic year and get experience giving a research presentation.


Cho Yi Wong, BC '09
Biology
Summer Medical and Dental Education Program (SMDEP) http://www.smdep.org

Cho Yi will discuss her summer with SMDEP at Case Western Reserve University , a six week academic enrichment program that offers freshman and sophomore college students intensive and personalized medical and dental school preparation. This program reinforced Cho Yi's decision to pursue a career in dental medicine.