Read feature stories about students, staff and faculty from across the WWAMI region.
Kimberly Thomas, MD, MSPH, Program Director of the Alaska Family Medicine Residency (AKFMR), has been recognized with the 2025 UW Family Medicine Leadership Excellence Award. This is a testament to her exceptional leadership and dedication. Dr. Thomas is a leader with deep roots in Alaska’s communities. She joined AKFMR as a faculty member in 2011 and took […]
In Anchorage, Alaska, second-year medical student Abigail Crawford is helping lead an initiative that’s saving lives and reshaping the way people think about opioid overdose. As co-lead of the Narcan Education & Distribution Project at the Anchorage WWAMI site, Crawford works alongside fellow student volunteers to provide free community training and resources focused on opioid […]
Alaska WWAMI has reached an exciting milestone, welcoming a record 30 students to its 2025 class — the largest cohort in the program’s history. The steady growth reflects years of strategic planning, new clinical exam spaces, faculty hires, and additional clerkships to meet the state’s urgent need for more physicians. The Alaska legislature approved funding […]
Third-year Montana WWAMI medical student Alex Wickens knows firsthand how uncertain the path to medicine can feel, especially for students growing up in rural towns. That’s why he’s committed to giving back by visiting high schools across Montana, encouraging students to consider futures in medicine and educating them about the WWAMI program. Wickens, who grew […]
The University of Washington School of Medicine warmly welcomed students from the incoming E25 class at the Seattle and Spokane WWAMI sites with the annual Stethoscope Ceremony. This meaningful tradition marks the beginning of medical school for new students, as they receive their first stethoscopes—a symbolic and practical gift from the UW Medicine Alumni Association. […]
Zhaoyi “Joey” Wang, a rising fourth-year medical student in Spokane, has been awarded the 2025 College of American Pathologists (CAP) Distinguished Medical Student Award—a national honor given to just one student per medical school who demonstrates exceptional interest, aptitude, and involvement in pathology. “From exploring recreational genetic testing in high school, to shadowing pathologists during […]
Alaska WWAMI students are reaping the rewards from the Targeted Rural Underserved Track (TRUST). TRUST helps students get hands-on insight into the benefits and challenges of rural practice throughout medical school while building lasting connections in underserved communities. First-year Alaska WWAMI students Mauri Butzke, Yi Chan and Abigail Moffett recently completed their initial TRUST experiences […]
On June 17, 2025, Idaho WWAMI second-year student Halle Torgerson took the stage at the Governor’s Cup Scholarship Banquet in Boise, sharing her journey from scholarship recipient to future physician. The event brought together state leaders and current scholars. Torgerson received the Governor’s Cup Scholarship as a high school senior after demonstrating a strong commitment […]
New Idaho WWAMI graduate Caleb Allred delivered a powerful and emotional address to classmates during the Transition to Residency Plenary Session in late May. He called on his classmates to embrace compassion, humanity, and intentionality as they step into residency. Caleb shared two deeply personal experiences that shaped him as a new physician and as […]
“I realized that as a pre-med student myself, there were lots of questions about preparing for medical school that I couldn’t answer,” says Zoe Thomas, a third-year undergraduate studying neuroscience and bioethics at the University of Washington. “Given how much I learned from others, I wanted to create a space where students could connect directly […]
