Anastasia (center) poses with mentor Donna Zulman (second from right) and summer 2022 Stanford-HBMC mentees

My Summer in Pictures

Anastasia Abongnelah Reflects on her Time in the Stanford HBMC Student Mentorship Program

My name is Anastasia Abongnelah and I am a second-year medical student (an M2) at Meharry Medical College. The Stanford-HBMC Student Mentorship Program has been one of the most amazing experiences I have had here. Everyone has been so welcoming, and it honestly felt like a home away from home. I have grown so much as a person and learned from everyone around me. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Donna Zulman (my mentor), Dr. Baraka Floyd, Dr. Cati Brown Johnson, Dr. Megha Shankar, Executive Director Sonoo Thadaney Israni, the entire PRESENCE 5 for Racial Justice team, and Stanford's Department of Medicine for making all this possible. This was truly an unforgettable experience. I am also very grateful for the opportunity to learn more about racial disparities in medicine and to be a part of a project that was created to combat anti-black racism in healthcare.

Excited at all the possibilities of starting research here. It was a great opportunity to grow and learn something new.

Inspired by the leaders, mentors, and other mentees in the Stanford-HBMC program. These are connections and relationships that will last a lifetime!

Click here to download my research poster, summarizing my summer project on combating anti-black racism in healthcare. I am really proud of it. 

I formed new friendships, including some Stanford med students. Olivia Okoli (on the left) is a rising M2 here at Stanford.

I had so much fun walking all the way across the Golden Gate Bridge (TWICE!!). It was a bucket list experience for sure. I was shocked by how cold San Francisco was.

I enjoyed exploring different art works in different cities. This mural was painted by several artists in Oakland, CA as part of the Bay Are Mural Program. 

(Kapor Center, 2148 Broadway. Artwork courtesy of Zoë Boston, Kalani Ware, DJ Ignacia, Shogun Shido, Hypedout Beitia, Corbrae Smith, & Rachel Wolfe). 

Loved so many murals in San Francisco. This was Umbrella Alley.