Q&A with graduating GPS Scholar Kayla Mowatt
Posted: May 20, 2020
A.T. Still University-School of Osteopathic Medicine in Arizona (ATSU-SOMA) student Kayla Mowatt, OMS IV, will graduate Friday, May 22. Mowatt is also a service member of the U.S. Air Force.
Mowatt was a recipient of ATSU’s Graduate Health Professions Scholarship (GPS). The GPS program is designed to accentuate the University’s unique mission of service and leadership in whole person healthcare. This tuition scholarship is a targeted approach to attract and educate students whose life contributions and experiences are consistent with the ATSU mission to serve in underserved areas. The GPS was created for historically underrepresented groups and/or underrepresented minority groups.
Mowatt took some time to respond to questions about her time at ATSU, importance of GPS, and her future plans.
Q: How did the GPS program affect you?
A: The GPS program introduced me and my close friend and classmate, Renee Crawford, OMS IV, to the Student National Medical Association (SNMA); then with our other friend and classmate, Rebecca Fryer Gordon, started the first chapter of SNMA at SOMA. This alone changed the course of my entire medical school career.
Q: What are some of your greatest achievements throughout your time at ATSU?
A: In my second year of medical school, two of my friends/classmates (aforementioned) started a SOMA chapter of SNMA. We did this while all three of us were in different states. In our first year of being officially chartered, we were SNMA’s Region 1’s Chapter of the Year. In starting this chapter, little did I know that I would essentially be giving myself one of the most crucial support systems I have while in medical school.
Q: What advice would you give to other students who are interested in attending medical school, but might be struggling to make that dream a reality?
A: Don’t doubt yourself. You are enough. Find a mentor and hold on tight. Do not be afraid to be human. Do not allow this process to change the core of who you are. Someone once told me that to get into medical school, you don’t have to be exceptionally smart, but you have to be exceptionally hard working. If you have the work ethic, you can make it happen.
Q: What’s next for you following graduation?
A: I will be going to Mike O’Callaghan Military Medical Center on Nellis Air Force Base to start my Family Medicine Residency
Q: What are your career goals?
A: I have always wanted to practice in an underserved area, ideally urban, and I’d like to teach students (I have yet to determine whether I would prefer to teach in a classroom setting, clinical setting, or both).