Hey everyone, and thanks for taking the time to check out SS2M! My name is Jared and I’m a first-year medical student at UCLA! I was born and raised in the Twin Cities, where I spent my undergraduate education at Macalester College, moved out west to do research at UCSF, and am now just beginning my next journey in Los Angeles for medical school. Reflecting on the path I’ve taken to get here, I have been extremely fortunate to have come across mentors and role models who have played an integral role in my eventual acceptance to medical school. I used the wisdom that they offered as my roadmap, as I was the first of my family to aspire to become a physician. While I’m eternally grateful for those who helped guide me along this path, I also recognize that such support systems are not readily available for all – contributing to the state of multidimensional underrepresentation endemic to the medical field today.

 

I know all too well what it feels like to be a Black pre-med student. I spent 4+ years trudging down the pre-med path while defying a status quo that implicitly, yet incessantly suggested that I, along with those who look like me, didn’t belong. The COVID-19 pandemic has not only highlighted our society’s shortcomings in effectively reaching and delivering adequate care to underserved communities, but also threatens to exacerbate the omnipresent racial and socioeconomic incongruencies that exist within the medical field. Our goal here at SS2M is to embrace the new virtual landscape in which we live to deliver battle-tested, proven guidance and knowledge to all pre-med students who desire it. We’ve assembled a diverse, passionate, and ambitious group of medical students from across the country that are dedicated to kickstarting the healing process of our future profession. On behalf of SS2M, we are incredibly excited to have you join us in taking the first step towards a career in medicine.