City Year alumni take many different paths after their corps year. No matter what path our alumni take, the skills and experiences that they have as a City Year corps member prepare them for any career they wish to pursue.
To learn more about what City Year alumni are up to now, check out these alumni profiles:
David Weiss '08, City Year New York
MD and MPH Candidate at Tufts University
Q: How did your City Year experience shape your career path?
A: Working in the South Bronx was a formative experience for me. My abstract understanding of classism, racism, xenophobia quickly became informed by concrete experience. These experiences, and a desire to continue to live a life of service led me to where I am today, beginning a career in community health.
Q: What made you decide to pursue the degree you are working towards?
A: After City Year hosted an 18 Minute Networking event during my corps year, I decided to pursue an additional degree in public health. I am currently finishing up my MD and MPH degrees at Tufts University and will be placed in a Family Medicine residency next.
Q: Do you have any advice for current or prospective corps members?
A: There's a PITW (Putting Idealism to Work) about how it is a privilege to do the work you do that I learned during my corps year. As cheesy as it sounds, it couldn't be more true. As I continue my work and training, I often find it useful to take a step back and remember that PITW.
Kayte Steele '10 & '11, City Year Washington, D.C.
give a year Scholar, Widener University Nursing Program
Q: How did your City Year experience shape your career path?
A: I served with the HIV Outreach Prevention Education (HOPE) Team at City Year Washington, D.C., where I helped provide HIV/AIDS education to more than 3,500 middle and high school students. Doing this really opened my eyes to the enormous impact that a few dedicated people can have on the world. It also gave me the tools to become a leader and find my passion for service.
Q: What made you decide to attend Widener University?
A: During my second year with City Year, I applied to Widener, which is a scholarship partner school to City Year. I am recipient of Widener University’s prestigious Presidential Service Corps/Bonner Leader Program scholarship, which City Year alums automatically receive as part of the scholarship partnership.
Q: Are you still involved with community service?
A: I serve as Community Chair for the Student Nurses Association which involves planning blood drives, activities for community clinics, and health education initiatives for middle and high school students. I also serve at A Better Chance, a program which seeks to expand educational opportunities for students of color.
Alexandra Mihalek '11, City Year San Jose/Silicon Valley
Medical Student, USC
Q: How do you think that your City Year experience strengthened your candidacy for medical school?
A: When I was looking for a medical school, I wanted to find a place that had a commitment to serving the underserved and a very strong public service program. Being a City Year corps member gave me experience in both of these domains, including much to talk about when interviewers inevitably asked about volunteer experiences and community service. I was also able to help with our after school program's health curriculum and run our school's first-ever Health Fair - not only were these experiences extremely enjoyable for me, but it also showed medical school committees that I was committed to a career in healthcare.
Q: What lessons or experiences from your City Year do you think have made you a better medical student, and ultimately, a better doctor?
A: Regardless of what specialty you enter, you will be trying to communicate to patients why they need to adopt certain lifestyle changes or stick to various routines of medicine or therapy, and City Year definitely helped me learn to work with a diverse group of individuals. Also, City Year is really demanding --you work around the clock. But, the same thing happens when you are in medicine, and City Year prepared me for this lifestyle. After my City Year experience, medical school feels kind of easy, which was a really nice surprise.