Alum News: Ilana Siegal (AS ’17) to join medical school this summer!

Ilana Siegal (AS ’17) is thrilled to report that she will be joining medical school this summer. She is currently in her final semester at the Case Western Reserve University where she is completing her MA in Bioethics and Medical Humanities. In addition to the graduate coursework, the program also includes clinical ethics rotations and a capstone research project. Ilana was also a teaching assistant for an undergraduate medical humanities course in the fall semester and is a research assistant this spring. She plans to participate in a short-term study abroad to Amsterdam in May to take a bioethics course focusing on women’s and public health.

While at Syracuse University, Ilana distinguished herself as an outstanding student, earning numerous awards and recognitions that included being named a Remembrance Scholar, a Founder’s scholar and a Bonham Scholar of the Year (2017). She pursued a major in International Relations and completed an Honors capstone project that examined the economic, health and psychological impacts of conflict using the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a case study. Ilana fondly reflects on her experience in the Honors program.

“Being in the honors program enabled me to take really interesting seminar-style classes that were smaller than the normal lecture-style classes. I was exposed to a unique set of mentors and a strong student population, who both value diversity, academic exploration, and extracurricular involvement. My favorite part about being in honors was that I made some of my best friends of college living in the Honors Learning Community freshman year (shout out to Sadler 3)!”

Ilana also credits the Honors program for preparing her for graduate school, “by teaching [her] to seek out faculty mentors, balance an increased academic load, and maintain the confidence and drive to pursue [her] goals.”

Ilana has some advice for current and future Honors students.
“Start researching and writing your capstone early and choose a topic that you love and will interest you for two years. Make a timeline with your adviser during the beginning of your junior year and stick with it! Combine multiple interests. Be creative, be different, be you.”

We wish Ilana the very best as she embarks on this new and exciting phase of her academic/career journey!