In early 2022, a previous PA student (DHG) shared the idea of a Black Pre-Health Panel with me. He envisioned an event where a panel of Black graduate students from health science programs would share their lived experiences with undergraduate students from similar backgrounds. His goal was to increase the visibility of Black health science graduate students for undergraduate students who were seeking representation and mentorship as they pursued health science programs at the University of Pittsburgh.

We worked together with the Pre-Health Resource Center to develop and launch the first Black Pre-Health Panel which occurred on October 3, 2022. Graduate students from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, School of Dental Medicine, School of Pharmacy, and School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences discussed their respective career paths, their educational backgrounds, and their lives as graduate students. The panel was well-received, and the event ran later than anticipated due to the large number of questions from attendees. Because of this enthusiastic feedback, the Black Pre-Health Panel was then duplicated with new panelists in the Spring of 2023 and in the Fall of 2023. Because of DHG’s dedication to this effort, he also coordinated a succession plan with current didactic year students to ensure that the event series continues to flourish and grow after his graduation in 2023.