Haley Mcgonagle is a Sophomore at the University of Tennessee and has already begun to make an impact on her campus by co-founding The Society of Future Women in Medicine. We had the opportunity to sit down with her to discuss the need for the organization, the process of forming it and what she hopes to see come out of it.
Her Campus (HC): What is your grade, age and major?
Haley Mcgonagle (HM): Sophomore, 19, Neuroscience & BCMB (Biochemistry and Cellular and Molecular Biology) major with a minor in Public Health.
HC: What made you want to co-found this society?
HM: We saw a gap in the unity of women on campus with the intent of going into a medical field during their post-graduate years and wanted to take initiative to fill the void ourselves.
HC: What is your role now within the society?
HM: I am the director of community outreach; I will reach out to various people in the Knoxville public health community to find potential service and clinical volunteer hours for our members.
HC: What was the process like to create the organization and gain members?
HM: It has been a long process forming the Society for Future Women in Medicine. I and my fellow co-founders, Mary Smith, Kennedy Hambrick and Leila Hennon, began by writing our mission statement of uniting future women in medicine on a three-hour-long zoom call. We have almost completed the process of getting the society approved on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville campus, but we have a long list of potential members already.
HC: Why is it important that societies like this exist on your campus?
HM: There has always been a lack of representation not only on college campuses, but in the medical field itself for women, and we are here to combat that by creating a positive space for future women in medicine to bond, learn and collaborate with the hope of making us stronger together.
HC: In your own words, can you describe the community that has been created.
HM: Throughout the process of creating The Society of Future Women in Medicine, we have had such a positive experience forming our group over multiple zoom calls throughout summer in quarantine. We have formed a strong bond together throughout the summer as we begin to make plans for the future.
HC: What are some of the challenges you think women in STEM/Medicine face?
HM: The Society for Future Women in Medicine will face challenges as a group itself by being founded during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite having to have our first meetings over zoom, we are all keeping a positive attitude, and are looking forward to the bright future that The Society of Future Women in medicine has to come on the UTK campus.
HC: What is something you would like other women in STEM/Medicine to know?
HM: Us future collegiate women in medicine must continue to lift each other up throughout our undergraduate years. While they can be very, very difficult ones, the bonds we make with each other during these years can truly be indicative of our success and allow our potential to skyrocket.
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