Alumni Spotlight

Allegra VanderWilde graduated from UP in May 2020 and has just embarked on her journey as a first-year medical student at the University of Washington school of medicine. While at the University of Portland, Allegra wore many hats and was involved all over campus.  She was an active member with the UP cross country & track teams and was busy teaching & leading chemistry workshops throughout her time here at UP.  Allegra was also involved in research on campus & was active with the Spanish department where she was able to take several medical mission trips to Guatemala and solidified her desire to become a physician. 

Some advice that Allegra has for our pre-med students is to “get to know the faculty”.  Allegra describes how she was able to find professors that were doing research or even was able to approach professors with research ideas and that this was an invaluable experience for her.  These relationships with professors also opened the door for many of those other opportunities, internships or to simply get mentorship & advising.

Allegra also emphasizes that it is important for our pre-med students to follow their passions, dreams & curiosities.  She says, “You can do anything you put your mind to.  Also, don’t focus too much on school… while keeping our grades up and getting good test scores are important, so too is your personal wellbeing.  For me it was running & even though many folks said I couldn’t do that while also pursing pre-med, it made me happy and I’m glad I did it.  I encourage you to also pursue things that make you happy and to do things you enjoy.  It definitely makes it more rewarding when you do get in and makes you a much more well-rounded person.”

Even after graduating, Allegra continues to be so generous with her time and willingness to give back to UP and to help support our students however she can.  We very much thank her for that and wish her all the best with medical school and her bright future as a physician.