Her Story: I grew up in Charlottesville but went out to the University of Southern California to study Psychology/Spanish. There, I gained an interest women's health through some volunteer experiences. I decided to apply for post-bac programs in hopes of one day becoming an OB/GYN. After the post-bac program, I moved to NYC to join the Community Health Corps (subset of AmeriCorps). I served as a prenatal coordinator and educator at an FQHC in the Bronx, which was an incredibly formative experience. I applied to about 15 medical schools during that year and ended up choosing to go back to UVA. Through my clinical rotations, I realized that I was more interested in children/families than strictly women's health so I pivoted from OB/GYN to Pediatrics. I graduated in 2020 and am now a 3rd year pediatric resident at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I just accepted a job as a Pediatric Hospitalist at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

His Story: Eric Adams graduated with a B.A. from Villanova University in 2011, majoring in Philosophy, Political Science, and Theology. As an undergrad, Eric took an interest in computer science and built a scheduling software for students. This once-small project grew into a burgeoning company, plannedUp, Inc. Following graduation, Eric moved to Boston, secured funding from venture capitalists, and continued to grow his company. Eric led plannedUp, Inc. as its CEO for four and a half years before stepping down to pursue his dream of becoming a physician. In the eight months leading up to the start of post-bac, Eric worked as an Emergency Room Technician at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, MA and did research with the Department of Neuro-Oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.   Eric grew up in Sudbury, MA with his parents and two older sisters. His childhood included overseas stints in Warsaw, Poland and Buenos Aires, Argentina. His mother and father originally hail from Colombia and Cuba, respectively. Eric enjoys reading,  playing basketball, cooking, hiking, and spending time with friends.

His Story: Walter Banfield received his B.A. in Anthropology from Dartmouth College. He grew up on a horse farm in rural southern Virginia, where he learned to enjoy being outdoors. Throughout college, he was a member of the varsity rowing team, and got to travel abroad for rowing several times. In the past year, he has worked with researchers on a regenerative medicine project. In his spare time, Walter enjoys going on adventures with friends, cooking, running, and going to the beach.

His Story: Cooper Barber served as an Officer and Company Commander in the United States Army.  Cooper was born and raised in Los Alamos, New Mexico and attended the University of North Dakota where he earned a B.S. in Aeronautics.  Following graduation, Cooper joined the Army and deployed three times as a combat helicopter pilot.  Throughout his experiences in combat environments and his close work with the Air Medical Evacuation mission, Cooper developed a passion towards medicine, emergency care, and the technical machinery of the human body.  Cooper separated from the Military before beginning the post-bac program and married his wife, Hollis, just after finishing two summer semesters of General Chemistry.

His Story: Logan Brich graduated from the University of Virginia in 2019, double majoring in Global Public Health and Middle Eastern Studies. He has been interested in public health since his first year in college, but conducting research in the West Bank of Palestine during his third year made him realize his love for the interpersonal dimension of medicine. He is interested in the interplay between culture, medicine, mental illness, and healing, and he hopes to study psychiatric anthropology in addition to his clinical medical education. Outside of school, Logan likes to spend his time outdoors, taking advantage of Charlottesville’s fabulous hiking trails and many beautiful wineries. His further interests include piano, tennis, cooking, and yoga.

Her Story: Macy Early is a proud native of the Commonwealth of Kentucky (where her parents and older sister still reside), though she’s been a Charlottesville resident since she began her undergraduate work at University of Virginia where she completed her B.A. in Economics with a minor in Religious Studies in 2016.  Over the past three years, Macy has grown through her work with Sustained Dialogue, Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship, and other local volunteer organizations.  Her passion is for women’s health and the way providers in this field are called to meet physical, mental, and emotional needs at once!  You can instantly bond with Macy over workout routines (especially distance running), plants and trees, memoirs, vegetarian recipes, and conversations about challenging social issues. 

His Story: Alex Gregor attended Davidson College as a John Montgomery Belk Scholar, graduating cum laude with high honors in anthropology. He spent a number of years working in social venture capital and business strategy and development in the US, Southeast, and East Asia. In 2015, he decided to pursue a medical career and moved to Charlottesville, where he worked as a medical scribe in UVA's Emergency Department before completing UVA’s Post-Baccalaureate Pre-Medical Program. During his time at UVA, Alex was also involved in projects through the UVA-Guatemala Initiative, was program manager for UVA’s Medical Design Program, and led the Data Action Team for the Emergency Medicine Research Office, part of UVA’s Department of Emergency Medicine.

Her Story: Originally from Duluth, Georgia, Jasmin Kamruddin is a recent graduate of Stanford University where she studied political science and African and African American studies. As a double major in two very different subjects, she sought to understand the complicated relationship between politics and race. When she wasn’t studying, she spent time working in a lab focused on renal cell carcinoma or working at Stanford’s Philanthropy and Civil Society Center. In her free time, Jasmin enjoys reading, cooking, eating, and hanging out with friends.

His Story: Zev Gurman has spent his post-college years in Oakland, CA, but is originally from Seabrook, MD. Before attending UVA’s pre-med program, he worked for UCSF Medical Center’s Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center as lead medical assistant in the Head and Neck Surgical Oncology department. Zev graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, CA with a BA in Russian and Eastern European Cultural Studies and a minor in Physics. Outside of healthcare, his passions are rock climbing, cycling, trail running, and reading ponderous tomes. 

Her Story: Cate Hendren is a North Carolina native who grew up playing dress-up and reading plays in Winston-Salem, the hometown of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts and Camel Cigarettes. She graduated from Davidson College in 2014 where as a Latin American Studies major, she studied religious change and public health. A lover of the great outdoors, she spent a lot of time hiking in the woods with the college’s outdoors club and on the water as a member of the rowing team. Since graduating, Cate’s worked in public health in Asheville, NC and in the Western Highlands of Guatemala on issues related to rural medicine and gender-based violence. She’s still most happy when having an adventure in the wilderness or learning something new.

Her Story: Sana Kagalwalla grew up in the suburbs of Chicago before attending the University of Michigan, where she studied economics and business. For the past three years, she has been working for BP in supply chainfocused roles. Outside of work, she loves dreaming about/planning her next travel adventure, hiking, reading, baking, trying new foods, and everything to do with elephants.

His Story: John grew up in Ireland and completed his bachelor's degree in International Relations at Stanford University. He used his undergraduate years to explore a variety of interests, while also playing varsity tennis for his alma mater. During his senior year, he recognized his true passion for medicine, but was out of time to finish the pre-requisites at Stanford. 

Her Story: Enjoying early retirement after her 3-year employment as a consultant in Allstate Insurance Company’s Leadership Development Program, Michelle Nanni is eagerly anticipating her upcoming educational sabbatical. Prior to her job with Allstate, she completed her undergraduate education at Cornell University in 2013, receiving degrees in Communications and Biology & Society.  Michelle participated and led in her campus chapter of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed community service fraternity which she still volunteers with today. Since graduation, Michelle continues to value community involvement and has strengthened her passion for working with children in educational and health care settings through local volunteering. Michelle, a New York native, relocated three times in the past three years, contributing to her unique blend of Midwestern, Southern, and Northeastern accents. Her travel-intensive job ignited an unexpected love for exploring new places and local cultures; she hopes to continue traveling as she visits the remaining states on her quest for all 50 U.S. states. In her spare time, Michelle enjoys hiking, basketball, reading, and music.

Her Story: Vanessa Ramirez de Arellano moved to Charlottesville from San Antonio, TX where she worked in technical sales at a mapping software company. She is originally from Puerto Rico and was raised in Caracas, Venezuela. She has a B.S. and Master's in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling and running.

His Story: Steve Quam is a Minnesota native and graduate of Oberlin College. He has spent the past three years working in the nonprofit sector on various social service endeavors: teaching preschool, doing outreach with a sexual and domestic violence center, and working in administration at a large anti-poverty organization in Brooklyn. In college, he administered HIV tests with a community-based organization, but went on to volunteer at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in the PICU. For leisure, he likes to read long works of plotless fiction, and play with his cat, Azazello.

Her Story: Diana Wise is originally from Palo Alto, CA.  Before beginning the post-bac program,  she worked part-time at Stanford University and part-time for a medical device startup focused on fall prevention in hospitals.  At Stanford, she was conducting research on racial and ethnic disparities in child mortality trends in California.  Diana received her B.A. from Dartmouth College in 2015 with a double major in Neuroscience and Environmental Studies.  As an undergraduate, Diana was the Global Health Intern at the Dickey Center for International Understanding where she mentored peers on how to engage in global health at Dartmouth and abroad and organized on-campus global health events and discussions.  She was also secretary and co-captain of the women’s rugby team and held various leadership positions in her sorority.  In her free time, Diana enjoys playing rugby, soccer, and other outdoor sports and particularly loved hiking in the Charlottesville area.