Digital publication | Page 12

Alicia Muench, a 3rd year Osteopathic Medical Student (OMS 3), and Hope Hutchinson, a 2nd year Osteopathic Medical Student (OMS 2), who met through the COMpanion program at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM) discovered a shared quality: both are first generation students.

When Alica Muench arrived at UNE COM as a first-year student, she met several other students from similar backgrounds. Graduating college was a feat in itself for Alicia, as she was constantly fighting to keep up with tuition payments by working night-shift EMS and whatever odd job she could find. Despite this, her upbringing granted her a wealth of first-hand knowledge about the obstacles patients from low-income communities' face and how to navigate systems not built with them in mind.

Hope Hutchinson grew up with uncontrolled asthma and knew from a young age that she wanted to be the first in her family to work in healthcare and serve her community as a physician. While she lacked the familial connections and understanding of higher education, she was fortunate for the internet, which she utilized to research the training process and requirements to become a physician and set herself up for success early. She was also very fortunate for the First-Generation Student Success program at her undergraduate institution, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, and the staff mentor and pre-medical advisor she found there for supporting her through her baccalaureate program and making her admission to medical school possible.