“My family is from Naknek, a small fishing village in the Bristol Bay region,” shares Laura Aspelund, a second-year medical student with Alaska WWAMI. “My first clinical job was as a medical assistant at the Cama’i Community Health Clinic in Naknek, which directly shaped my path in medicine. The skills and relationships I developed there […]
Born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska, Mick Edwards is a proud member of the Upper Skagit Tribe, based in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. Now a medical student at the University of Washington School of Medicine’s WWAMI program, Mick is pursuing a path in medicine shaped by a deep commitment to community, culture, and mental health equity. “I […]
For second-year Alaska WWAMI student Laura Aspelund, serving as co-lead of the Baby’s First Friends Service Learning Committee has been one of the most meaningful parts of her medical school journey. Through this program at the Alaska Native Medical Center (ANMC), student volunteers provide comfort care for newborns in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU). […]
In the quiet moments between exams and evening routines, Alaska WWAMI student Manuel De La Garza is embracing what it means to be both a future surgeon and a present, devoted father. Originally from Denton, Texas, and now living in Anchorage, Alaska, he’s navigating the intense demands of medical school while raising a young family—a […]
