Student Wellness Committee

The Student Wellness Committee offers events that act to boost morale in school, provide stress relief, and offer ways to interact with your class in a non-academic setting. We aim to support individual students and provide avenues for families and friends to engage so that they are aware of the general environment and events required at medical school. We are actively involved with projects that shape the general school environment and affect the overall wellbeing and resources that are made available to students throughout all four years. Lastly, we are advocates for each student and our class as a whole; we understand that wellness means something different for everyone and are always open to input and ideas to provide support in areas of need.

Members on the Student Wellness Committee are elected during their 1st year and their term runs longitudinal all four years. However, any student may join our meetings and provide input. We receive a budget allocated from the school to use toward supplies, events, and whatever else we may need to accomplish our goals

Class of 2022

Manoj Mathew

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry
• Career Goals: I am not exactly sure which specialty I would like to go in, but I aspire to be a physician that is involved with the community and medical students.
• Hobbies: I love food, dogs, and longboarding. Perhaps my favorite activity is cooking up meals with a bunch of random ingredients I find in the pantry. Most of the time the dish is pretty good.

Pascal Nilsson

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Undergraduate Degree: Biological Sciences
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I am most interested in internal medicine and neurology. I would like to practice in an academic setting and have a teaching role.
• Hobbies: I enjoy going to stand-up comedy shows and indie-rock concerts. I enjoy playing ping pong, hiking, baking and going to coffee shops. Favorite foods are sushi and blueberry muffins.

Abi Prabhu

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• Hometown: Las Vegas, Nevada
• Career Goals: I’m not sure what I want to specialize in but I look forward to exploring around much more and finding something that I love to do!
• Hobbies: I love to read, cook using healthy recipes, take pictures, and spend time with friends. I’m obsessed with dogs and take every opportunity possible to pet random dogs since my own pup is back home in Vegas and I miss him a bunch. I also like exploring new places and finding cool artsy places in the city!

Mario Pucci

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Undergraduate Degree: Biochemistry, Minor in Biology
• Hometown: Henderson, Nevada
• Career Goals: I am still deciding what I want to do, but I know it will be within the primary care fields. I want to be involved with academia, global health, and integrative medicine modalities.
• Hobbies: I love anything and everything water related: swimming, fishing, boating, snorkeling, etc. Also, I am a foodie and love reading and writing reviews on Yelp. In my down time, I enjoy getting lost in YouTube wormholes.

Lily Tam

• Undergraduate College: University of California, Berkeley
• Undergraduate Degree: Political Economy
• Hometown: South Lake Tahoe, CA
• Career Goals: I've fallen in love with so many specialities along the course of my inquiry. At my local community clinic in family medicine, I was like -- That! And later, I met an amazing neurologist, and was then like -- That! Again with rheumatology and palliative care -- That and That! As one can see, this is my way of saying: I'm not sure. I stay open to the possibilities, and am quite content with the freedom of curiosity. I will say, however, I do have a special place in my heart for oncology. Especially spotlighting those beautiful lungs.
• Hobbies: Lily finds a lot of joy in the simple things. Like coffee -- Folger's instant coffee, she's totally okay with that! Nature is her jam. She enjoys getting lost (the intentional kind) and exploring. A happy day is one where she is outside all day. Perhaps even capped off with hot drinks around a nighttime campfire. She strives to find the beauty in the moments that make up this extraordinary gift called life.

Class of 2023

Ngantu Le

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Undergraduate Degree: Biology and Neuroscience
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I am mostly interested in neurosurgery and OBGYN, but still keeping an open mind until clerkship rotations. I enjoy the academic setting and plan to be involved in academia after graduation.
• Hobbies: I love jigsaw puzzles, painting, and trying new foods. I have high tolerance for spicy foods and will always take the highest challenge that’s offered. I also enjoy being around all animals and will find a way to spend time with my friends’ pets any time I can.

Gideon Lomiiko

• Undergraduate College: Weber State University
• Undergraduate Degree: Zoology
• Hometown: Maralal, Kenya
• Career Goals: I am interested in Family Medicine and would like to be involved in Global Health
• Hobbies: Hobbies: Cycling, hiking, camping and generally being outside in nature.

Sabel Witmer

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Neuroscience 
• Hometown: Reno, NV
• Career Goals: I have not completely decided yet on a specialty, still hoping to find the best fit for me and my future patients. I’m looking forward to learning more about different specialty options during clinical rotations in my third year. Overall, my goal is to find a career choice that is fulfilling and stimulating for me for many years to come.
• Hobbies: I absolutely love to read and will do it any chance I get! I also enjoy spending time with pets, and skiing/mountain biking.

Class of 2024

Kristen Morrill

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Biology
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I’ve dreamed of being an OBGYN with my own practice since elementary school. However, if there is a different specialty that allows me to provide patients continuity of care, improve women’s health, and serve underrepresented communities, I’ll pursue that! I suppose time will tell!
• Hobbies: I love endurance running and other activities that get me outside like hiking. I also enjoy making scrapbooks, watching movies, and baking!

Taree Chadwick

• Undergraduate College: Columbia College Chicago and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Undergraduate Degree: Theater Production and Biology
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I plan on working in a rural area as a family medicine physician. Rural medicine excites me because of the unique relationship between the physician and patient. As a rural doc I’ll get to wear multiple hats and do a little bit of everything.
• Hobbies: I love endurance running and other activities that get me outside like hiking. I also enjoy making scrapbooks, watching movies, and baking!

Sonia Figueroa

• Undergraduate College: Nevada State College
• Undergraduate Degree: Biology
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I am not too sure what I want to go into. I have an open mind and am willing to go where this journey takes me. Right now I am thinking about Internal Medicine! My goal is to be able to be involved in academia and be involved in teaching after I graduate!
• Hobbies: I enjoy cooking with my boyfriend, going to the gym, long showers, and watching movies! Not a hobby - but I love the summertime!

Irene Li

• Undergraduate College: Vanderbilt University
• Undergraduate Degree: Medicine, Health, and Society; Psychology & Economics Minors
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I am most interested in psychiatry (it’s really what I came to med school for!), but I’m keeping an open mind. We will see!
• Hobbies:I love reading, working out, hiking, and meditating. I’ve recently started a budding plant collection, so now I’d call myself a plant mom.

Class of 2025

Erin Callister

• Undergraduate College: Santa Clara University
• Undergraduate Degree: Psychology & English
• Hometown: Reno, NV
• Career Goals: Whether I go into OB-GYN, internal medicine, or psychiatry (I like them all!), I hope to be a competent and compassionate physician-leader. Academic medicine might be in my future, too.
• Hobbies:  My favorite hobbies (besides cramming my brain full of medical knowledge) are creative writing, moving my body (yoga, pilates, hiking, etc.), traveling, and hanging out with my partner Wade and our adorable Australian Shepherd, Georgia.

Bhupinder Kumra

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas
• Undergraduate Degree: Biology and Psychology, minor in Neuroscience
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: I don't know exactly what I want to pursue yet, I just know I want to be fully present for my future patients 
• Hobbies: My hobbies include watching anime, Netflix, cooking, baking, swimming, water sports, painting and boxing.

Ivan Lopez

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Neuroscience
• Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
• Career Goals: My goal is to become a well informed, people-oriented psychiatrist that helps to push the boundaries of what traditional medicine looks like. I hope to better understand the different problems and struggles each generation faces and help find commonalities or differences in their care that can help me better aid any individual that comes to me for assistance in their journey. I don't expect the road toward becoming the physician I envision myself as to be an easy one, all I can work toward is making sure it is a fulfilling, enlightening, and growth-oriented journey. 
• Hobbies: I enjoy making different coffees and spending way too long preparing them. I also enjoy playing music, be it guitar or singing, with whoever may want to join. If not that, I am among the endless self-identified foodies who loves trying out new food spots. 

Lourdes Valdez

• Undergraduate College: University of Nevada, Reno
• Undergraduate Degree: Community Health Sciences - Public Health
• Hometown: Reno, NV
• Career Goals: As a physician I hope to provide accessible, and high-quality care that raises the standard of healthcare for everyone, everywhere. While I am interested in OB/GYN I look forward to exploring the various specialties in medical school to find the perfect one that aligns with my interests, and values as I am also interested in global health, and academic medicine.
• Hobbies: I love anything that gets me moving around outdoors whether that’s hiking, kayaking, or simply taking a walk in the park. I also enjoy reading, spending time with family, friends, and pets, and collecting plants.
  

Associated Students of the University of Nevada School of Medicine (ASUNSOM)

ASUNSOM is the NSHE Chancellor approved, fee-collecting student government representing all medical students enrolled at the University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine. The student government is governed by the student council which consists of the President, Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer of the MS1 and MS2 Classes, and the Presidents of the MS3 and MS4 Classes, and chaired by the MS2 President.