Katie Strawhun may only be 16, but she’s already met people who have made huge impacts in medicine and science, including Nobel Prize laureates and National Medal of Science recipients.
Strawhun, who will be a junior at De Soto High School when classes resume next month, was among about 4,000 high school students to take part in the Congress of Future Medical Leaders June 25-27 on the University of Massachusetts Lowell campus near Boston.
Strawhun had never heard of the Congress of Future Medical Leaders until she received a letter in the mail and an email inviting her to be a delegate for the program. It’s an honors-only program for students who want to become physicians or go into medical research fields.
Strawhun said she has wanted to be a doctor for as long as she can remember.
“I want to be a pediatrician,” she added.
Strawhun, who has three nieces and one nephew with more on the way, said she loves kids and being around them.
“I feel like my passion of wanting to help others and loving kids just directed me toward being a pediatrician,” she said.
Strawhun said the best part of the Congress was meeting other young people interested in the same field of study and serious about getting an education.
“They were not just from the U.S.; there were people from Africa, Asia, the United Kingdom and everywhere,” she said. “It was interesting to get to know people from those areas.”
Strawhun said the speakers were impressive, adding that some were as young as her.
“There was a 16-year-old there (Heman Bekele), and he was a scientist, and he said that he started his research at 12,” Strawhun said. “He was named Time Kid of the Year (2024). He created a skin cancer soap.”
She heard from Dr. Mario Capecchi, a biophysicist and Noble Prize-winning molecular geneticist who talked about his research on knockout gene-targeting.
“It was really interesting to hear about how they take out the genes and manipulate them,” she said.
Strawhun said another interesting speaker was Dr. Sylvia Owusu-Ansah, a pediatric emergency medical director who was a medical consultant for the new medical TV show, “The Pitt.” She assisted with an episode where a small child ingested weed gummies by accident.
“She said that’s a major problem that she sees … so she was happy to work on that episode,” Strawhun said.
Another speaker provided tips and recommendations to get ahead while still in high school.
Strawhun said she got to watch a shoulder surgery via livestream video. Students also had the chance to ask surgeons questions about the procedure.
Her parents, Michalean and Jeff Strawhun, accompanied her on the trip to Massachusetts. While there, her family visited Boston, toured part of the Harvard campus and walked the Freedom Trail that connects 16 historic sites from the American Revolution.
According to the future medical leaders program, Strawhun was nominated for the program based on her academic achievement, leadership potential and determination to serve people in the field of medicine. She is active in track, cross country and Student Council at De Soto High School and is a member of the National Honor Society.
She plans to earn an associate degree from Jefferson College before finishing high school but is unsure where she wants to attend college for pre-med.