Identities

As someone living with multiple chronic illnesses/disabilities, it was really important for me to go to a medical school/graduate school that had good health care coverage and the flexibility to work with students needing accommodations. The medical coverage here is phenomenal — everyone at Student Health is super friendly, there is essentially no wait time for appointments (you can get in and out within minutes!), Dr. Winters is always available after hours via email if any urgent matters arise, anything done at Student Health (blood work, tests, etc.) is fully covered, and most specialists within the WashU network are covered with only a $20 copay. Dr. Winters is wonderful at coordinating care with all my providers, and helped me establish a medical team to manage my multiple chronic medical conditions (diagnosed both prior to and during my time at WashU). Dean Moscoso is a true advocate for students needing accommodations — she arranged for me to get testing accommodations for a medical condition I had before medical school, advocated for me to be tested for a learning disability (which resulted in a learning disability diagnosis) after some academic difficulties during the first semester of medical school, helped me get a second set of accommodations for the learning disability, and also guided me through the enormous task of applying for accommodations for Step 1. Finally, there is a student group (Science and Healthcare Abilities Coalition — SHAC) that supports chronically ill/disabled students in all programs at the School of Medicine and allies and works to improve health care for disabled people. Becoming doctors unfortunately does not make us immune to chronic conditions or disabilities, but I can confidently say that WashU is able to handle any and every situation that might come your way!

St. Louis is a city with a loaded history of racism, disparities based on race, and unequal access to opportunity for people of color (POC). WashU is an institution that is cognizant of their contribution to these harsh realities, and is invested in addressing these issues in the WashU community, as well as in the Missouri communities surrounding us. As a Black student, I feel immensely supported by Student National Medical Association (SNMA), the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and community organizations for POC, and know that my hopes for the betterment of POC in medicine and society are also a priority of theirs. Additionally, being in St. Louis, which has a vibrant POC community, has allowed me to interact with more POC organizations, communities, and individuals than I’ve ever had the opportunity to anywhere else I’ve lived. I feel empowered here, and I know that the fight for equality for POC is also being fought by my peers, educators, and mentors.

As a Latina raised on the East Coast, I came to St. Louis with a pretty hesitant attitude about how my cultural habits and attitudes would fit in with my new environment. I’ve never been happier to be proven wrong. There is a wonderful wealth of Latin-American heritage and culture in the city if you know where to look, from the delicious food (10/10 would recommend Fritanga STL, shout out to my motherland) to the markets and festivals that happen throughout the city. It’s been incredible to explore and support all the Latin businesses in the area during my time here. I’ve also even been able to sustain my own traditions in my own home, as there are several international markets within the area where I can grab all the ingredients I need for home cooking!

Within the institution of WashU, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (ODEI) and the Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) have been amazing towards making me feel loved and welcomed as a minority student. The support and encouragement they have towards ensuring that students are able to represent their identities proudly is unparalleled. These organizations also afford us the opportunity to get involved with similar patient populations in the city where we can, ensuring that we can feel like a part of the local Latin community and create new cultural connections in our new home.

As an openly gay man who has lived in the Midwest my entire life, I can attest that I have felt the most supported and included here in St. Louis and at WashU. Coming from Iowa, I never felt like I had a solid LGBTQ+ community for support, networking, or simply having fun. However, during the application process I instantly felt a level of love and acceptance I didn’t feel other places. WashU was the only school I felt comfortable wearing black nail polish or keeping my piercings on during the interviews, which I think speaks volumes to the norms and values our faculty uphold. Now as an M1 I have been heavily involved in the LGBTQ+ community here, ranging from attending OutMed networking events at one of our dean’s house and fostering connections with my amazing queer classmates to volunteering and representing Wash U LGBTQMed at the Pride Festival. No matter if you want to go out to bars and see some drag shows, want networking or mentoring opportunities, or want to get involved in curriculum change and conversation with faculty regarding LGBTQ+ health care, I promise you will have ample opportunities to get involved. While St. Louis isn’t perfect (nowhere is), there is a community of students, physicians, and community members here to support you!

Having both grown up and gone to college in St. Louis, I can tell you there are an abundance of opportunities to celebrate your South Asian heritage within the area. First, there are cultural events put on by both Saint Louis University and WashU’s Danforth Campus, which are open to all students. These include celebrations for Holi, Diwali, Navaratri, Onam, and many more. There are also cultural showcases put on by both universities where cultural dance (Garba/Bhangra/Raas/South), garb, and food is shared with the community. 

In terms of restaurants, there are plenty of opportunities to sample South Asian cuisine in the area. The closest restaurant would probably be Rasoi. It is in the Central West End, so one could argue it is within walking distance. There is also an abundance of international grocery stores nearby, such as Seema, Ambica Foods, and Bombay Bazaar if you are looking for ingredients or snacks. 

Finally, the biggest thing we love to do is share our culture with other classmates. I’m glad to have classmates with whom I can dance, discuss Bollywood movies, and even enjoy South Asian cuisine!

I’m a first-year student here at WashU, so I can only really speak about the first two modules, and I can say I have felt very welcomed and supported so far. When I moved, I started medical care here by scheduling an appointment with Student Health Services (SHS), which went really smoothly, and I immediately got a referral to the WashU Transgender Center. My endocrinologist at the Transgender Center, Dr. Baranski, is amazing. I haven’t encountered any gatekeeping at all, and he has let me be really active in directing my care, something I totally didn’t expect moving to a very red state. In school, all of the faculty and classmates I’ve interacted with have been very affirming and I’ve only had a few issues with people using the wrong name or pronouns. When that happened, people took accountability for their mistakes — I’ve never felt like they were made out of malice. I started school in the middle of my legal name change, so my deadname was still in the school’s systems for the first couple of months and it was printed on one session’s group assignment sheet that was distributed to the whole class and taped to the walls. I got immediate apologies from the instructors of that session and from the module leads when I brought it up; the error was quickly corrected and acknowledged to the whole class in the following session. Dean Moscoso also scheduled an unprompted one-on-one meeting with me to talk about ways I could be further supported, and helped me move an exam that conflicted with my first voice therapy appointment. Things are definitely not perfect though. I have had a harder time finding trans community here than in California or Maryland. Overall though, I can confidently say that my experience of being trans at WashU so far has been very positive.