America Needs You fellows with Mount Sinai panelists, back row, from right: Jose Sepulveda, JD; Berthe Erisnor, MBA; and Lisa Eiland, MD.
A group of first-generation college students—with questions about health care careers and academic life—recently received advice from Mount Sinai officials who were also among the first in their families to attend college. The young people were fellows of America Needs You, a mentoring program.
In the Black History Month event, on Friday, February 10, at Mount Sinai West, the fellows met Lisa Eiland, MD, Assistant Professor, Pediatrics, and Director of Newborn Medicine at Mount Sinai West; Berthe Erisnor, MBA, Vice President, Ambulatory Care, Mount Sinai St. Luke’s; and Jose Sepulveda, JD, Manager, Compliance, New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai. Dr. Eiland advised the students to build inner strength for the days “when people try to say, ‘you can’t,’ and categorize you.” She said it was equally important to cultivate a support system of friends and mentors: “Find people who will put themselves out there to help you succeed.”