Though many of Adriana's family members in Puerto Rico are in medicine, she only began to imagine herself in a health career after a professor inspired her to pursue it. Then, Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico.

Peggy Nopoulos, MD, is a triple threat in the world of academic medicine as a clinician, researcher, and mentor.

Yumeng (“Yumi”) Engelking grew up in Chaozhou, a small city in southeast China. At the age of 11, she developed a disorder that caused significant hair loss. Though the illness wasn’t life threatening, it was detrimental to her self-image, and that experience has shaped the way she views specialty care in medicine.

Sierra Sheets’ interest in medicine began at a life-changing visit with her own medical provider when she was in high school.

Stephanie Meza is excited to learn about Iowa’s communities and how she can leverage her own experience to help Iowans. “The challenges I went through developed in me an ability to find a way out of no way," Meza says. “It’s given me the confidence and tenacity to solve problems that seem unsolvable.”