In order to prepare for his future career, sophomore Felipe D’Andrea takes courses to train for his dream in the medical field.

From September to November, D’Andrea took a medical training program called Mini-Med One at Washington University in St. Louis. There he took two hour classes once a week.

 The program taught students broadly overall what to expect in training for the medical field. Doctors and researchers would lecture students about elements in medicine.

D’Andrea said it wasn’t like a school because students didn’t sit in classrooms the whole time. They would complete a lot of labs and activities to familiarize students with the various topics and show what to expect in medical school.

“I loved every single topic. Medicine is something to be understood and not appalled by,” D’Andrea said.

After Mini-Med One, D’Andrea plans to complete Mini-Med two by spring and Mini-Med three by the end of the year.

By participating medical programs at Washington University, this can assist him in acceptance to the university, for the school puts the student’s names on their email list.

In addition to all the med training, D”Andrea does a lot of extra volunteer work and leadership programs to help him get into a good medical school.

 D’Andrea volunteered at the Howard Park center to help mentally disabled kids and is currently on the Renaissance Student Steering Committee at Lafayette. 

Though the process from after high school to becoming an actual doctor takes approximately 17  years, D’Andrea said he’s committed and has a lot of interest for the field.

“I loved science. My passion for it has been growing. It started small, but it exponentially grows bigger,” Felipe said.