Scholar-athletes learned about careers in health care, medicine, and science—and learned that they might have exactly the right attributes to succeed—at the inaugural NYC-SWAG (Scholar-Athletes With Academic Goals) Summit. About 120 participants attended the event, held in June in Davis Auditorium, including students from middle school to college, parents, teachers, coaches, and medical professionals who were once student-athletes themselves.
From left: Reginald W. Miller, DVM, DACALM, Dean for Research Operations and Infrastructure, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Hannah Valantine, MD, Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, National Institutes of Health; Brian Hainline, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Collegiate Athletic Association; Norma Poll-Hunter, PhD, Senior Director, Human Capital Initiatives, Association of American Medical Colleges; and Gary C. Butts, MD, Dean for Diversity Programs, Policy and Community Affairs, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
In planning the Summit, “the conversation started around the severe lack of African American and Latino males in science and medicine, and expanded into a conversation around the larger student body of athletes,” said Reginald W. Miller, DVM, DACLAM, Dean for Research Operations and Infrastructure, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. The event was hosted by the School of Medicine’s Diversity in Biomedical Research Council and the Mount Sinai Health System’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, in partnership with the National Institutes of Health, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the National Collegiate Athletic Association.
Young people who participate in athletics are developing important habits of mind, said the keynote speaker, Hannah Valantine, MD, Chief Officer for Scientific Workforce Diversity, National Institutes of Health. “Confidence, self-discipline, time management: these are all things that are critically important to be successful as a researcher and a scientist, and you already have it,” she told the attendees.
Speakers also included Brian Hainline, MD, Chief Medical Officer, National Collegiate Athletic Association; and Norma Poll- Hunter, PhD, Senior Director, Human Capital Initiatives, Association of American Medical Colleges. A panel of premed and medical students who had competed in swimming, rowing, football, and basketball shared practical tips: don’t neglect your studies; network; schedule time for plenty of sleep; and seek an internship in medicine or research. They said medical school might actually be easier than juggling school and sports.
The panel was led by Valerie Parkas, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Recruitment and Admissions, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. Dr. Parkas said that she herself competed as a gymnast in college and that athletes often have attributes that allow them to be successful professionals in all spheres, but particularly in STEM careers and in medicine. “We are looking for young people who are hardworking, who are motivated, who have grit, who are team players, who are leaders,” Dr. Parkas said. “And those are young people who have been athletes their whole lives.”
Alvin Alonso, a student at Dr. Richard Izquierdo Health and Science Charter School in the Bronx, said the Summit gave him a lot of motivation. “It brought my hopes up,” he said. “It told me that anything is possible if you just put your mind to it.”
Valerie Parkas, MD, Senior Associate Dean for Recruitment and Admissions, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, led a panel of medical and premed students who are former athletes, from left: Femi Oyewole and David Octeau, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai; Showly Nicholson, Harvard Medical School; and Enna Selmanovic, University of Cincinnati.
Showly Nicholoson, a Harvard medical school student who played basketball at Phillips Exeter Academy, enjoyed lunch with young scholar-athletes.
About 120 people, including scholar-athletes from middle school to college, attended the NYC-SWAG Summit at Davis Auditorium.