On April 25, 2025, the Mallory-Wilson Center held its first-ever speed networking event, with a total of 9 different health professionals coming to speak to students about their journey to becoming a health professional. To make sure that there was time allotted for each student to ask questions and engage in conversation, we were split up into 9 groups with about 4-5 people in each group. 

The 9 health professionals who came to speak to us spanned multiple different fields in medicine and provided multiple different perspectives on their experiences.

Those health professionals are listed here: 

• Kimberly Widmeyer - Genetic Counseling
• Rebecca Sisson - Genetic Counseling
• Dr. David DeLaet - Pediatrician and Internist
• Dr. Greg Hellwarth- Orthopedic Surgeon
• Dr. Heather Mandrell - Pediatrician
• Haley Helling - Physical Therapist
• Michele Molden - Healthcare Consulting
• Carolyn Hardin - Humanities Center at Miami University
• Saruna Ghimire - Public Health at Miami University

One of the health professionals who came to speak to us was Dr. David DeLaet (MD). Dr. DeLaet graduated from Miami University in 1991 and is currently a Pediatrician and Internist at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine Medical Center. When my group had the opportunity to speak with him, I learned a very valuable lesson: that the path you want to pursue is not always a straight line, and often zig-zags. But, in the end, it would have all been worth the struggle and mishaps. In medical school, Dr. DeLaet had decided on the path to becoming a pediatrician; however, the residency program he wanted was not available, so he chose to get his Master’s in Public Health, which ended up being beneficial to him in the long term. Long story short, he was ok with waiting and trying something new to eventually get to where he wanted to be in life. 

Another health professional who came to visit us was Dr. Greg Hellwarth (MD). Dr. Hellwarth is currently an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in spine surgery and practices at the Reid Orthopedic Center in Indiana. He told us about his stories of traveling outside of the U.S to help treat people in underprivileged areas such as Kenya. Hearing him talk about how amazing it was to experience a different culture and see how excited the students there were to learn was inspiring. It made me realize that you specialize in a type of medicine that you are interested in, and you still help people around the world through these life-changing missions.   

Overall, I thought this was an impactful event and experience. Even though I am only a freshman and still getting the hang of what field of medicine I want to go into. I know for sure that I will become a physician because of all the invaluable experiences that these health professionals have gone through, and knowing that they loved their field of work only strengthens my desire. I am eagerly looking forward to next year, where I get to meet more amazing health professionals and hear their stories as well.