In September 2019, I started a club, Women in Health Professions, at Prairie State College. In the short amount of time Women in Health Professions arrived on campus, my team and I were able to provide a fortified support group for like-minded women. We gained a lead of over 50 women on campus. Through the club, we held biweekly informational meetings that touched on topics relating to women’s health and the importance of academia/community service. We have hosted multiple study group sessions and have been blessed enough to hold giveaways for free graduate test prep books. In addition, we have collaborated with other clubs with campus social events.

Due to the onset of COVID-19 in 2020, Women in Health Professions was unable to further carry out the mission on Prairie State College’s campus. Still, the success of the club despite it’s short-lived time gave me inspiration to reach out to more women. This is how the blossoming idea of Aspiring Women in Health, NFP came to be.

Aspiring Women in Health has reached out to over 150+ women since 2020. Through our mentoring match program, we have successfully paired 15+ mentees to a professional in their field of interest. Through this, they are able to gain exposure and experience in their career path from their mentor. We are still blessed to provide giveaways for academia resources such as MCAT prep books and self-care items. We have held interactive live conversations with pharmacy and medical students to enlighten and advise pre-health students. We have hosted a variety of community service events. Through the Richton Park Food Pantry & RHEMA Church, we have been able to give back to over 200+ individuals in non-perishable food items. Our most successful community service event thus far was our Breast Cancer Awareness Event. We collaborated alongside Family Christian Health Center to administer drive-thru COVID-19 tests to over 75+ individuals and provide them with informative material and resources for breast cancer.

Now, Aspiring Women in Health has expanded to college campuses Fall 2021. At University of Illinois at Chicago and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, we have reached out to 50+ women thus far. These chapters carry out our mission through events, academia, and social support for women. So far, the Chicago campus has established community service events with Sinai Community Institute and Jesse Brown VA Medical Center. Through these opportunities, students are able to get hands on experience by administering COVID-19 vaccinations and partaking in engaging clinical simulation experiences.

Deciding to go into the healthcare field as a woman can be intimidating given the rigorous environment that comes with it. As an individual who understands and has gone through this experience in her undergrad years, I want to be able to take my experience and help other women like myself. I found it quite difficult to outsource the aid and resources I needed to excel as a pre-medicine student. There were a variety of clubs and organizations to join; however, none provided the support I needed to embark on such a fully committed path as medicine. In addition to that, many of these clubs had established requirements which marginalized incapable individuals, monetarily and academically.

The mission of Aspiring Women in Health, NFP is to provide an all-inclusive group for women with support, academia resources, community service and networking opportunities to set each individual up for a successful career. Though we are Aspiring Women in Health, we take a more interdisciplinary approach. We are open to women outside of the clinical field- this includes women in biomedical engineering, Ph.D candidates, research, psychology, and the list goes on.

At Aspiring Women in Health, we understand that everyone plays a key role in the healthcare of patients. Whether you are aspiring to be a physician or a social worker, one can not do without the other. Our goal is to shed light on this importance, all the while supporting one another in our individual paths. We hope to expand and reach more women outside of the Chicagoland area. With your help, we can make a difference not only in a woman’s life, but in a patients life. Any donation will make an impact and we thank you in advance for your contribution to this cause. God bless you.