WWAMI Stories and Student Features

This Giving Day, Wyoming WWAMI is continuing a multi-year campaign to establish a travel scholarship for our students in the final clinical phase of their medical education. The window for Giving Day is between noon, October 23 and noon, October 24, 2025. The purpose of the fund will be to provide financial assistance to our third- and fourth-year […]

When Lessly Tapia Torres was a child, she was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy. Her mother was told there were few options for follow-up care because of their immigration status. For Lessly, that moment was formative. “I remember watching my mom fight for me, while seeing other families struggle in the clinic,” she recalls. “It opened […]

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). […]

Montana WWAMI students joined peers from across the region in Coeur d’Alene, ID, last month for the annual WWAMI TRUST (Targeted Rural Underserved Track) Leadership Retreat. The gathering is 2 ½ days of sessions designed to challenge TRUST scholars to strengthen their skills as future rural physicians. A central highlight of the retreat was the […]

Earlier this month (September 8-10, 2025), first-year Montana WWAMI medical students participated in the American Indian Medical Experience (AIME), a three-day program designed to build cultural understanding and prepare future physicians to serve rural and underserved communities. Students split into two groups: one visiting the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, the other traveling to the Crow […]

The Montana Medical Association recently celebrated four Montana WWAMI students at its 147th annual meeting and dinner in Helena, awarding each a $1,000 scholarship in recognition of their dedication to medicine and service to communities across the state. The 2025 recipients were first-year student Geri Cutler of Helena, second-year medical student Barla Beaudoin of Red […]

Thirty first-year Montana WWAMI students marked an important milestone in their medical journey at the White Coat Ceremony in Bozeman on September 12, 2025. As each student donned the white coat for the first time, they embraced the responsibilities, standards, and commitments expected of a physician. For Matt and Annie Waldum, the ceremony was especially […]

In the heart of Anchorage, Alaska, Amanda Beery, MD, is not only providing care for women of all ages; she’s also shaping the next generation of physicians. A full-time OB/GYN and managing partner at Alaska Women’s Health, she is equally proud to call herself an Alaska WWAMI alum and medical educator. Dr. Beery’s earliest inspiration […]

Alaska WWAMI is excited to welcome Nicholas Phelps, MD, as our new Assistant Dean for the Foundations Phase. He began September 1, 2025, after a nationwide search and will transition to being fully on-site at the University of Alaska Anchorage in October. Dr. Phelps brings a wealth of experience from Dell Medical School at the […]

After six years of dedicated leadership as the Assistant Dean for the Foundations Phase at Alaska WWAMI, Kathy Young, MD., is stepping away from her administrative role to return to her first love: teaching. Dr. Young has been a cornerstone of the Alaska WWAMI program, guiding students through the critical early phases of their medical […]