About us

Hi everyone! Welcome to Rural Girls in Medicine. My name is Lauren and I am one of the co-founders of RGM. I am currently a third-year medical student at the University of South Florida Health Morsani College of Medicine, and I grew up in a small town called Chebanse, Illinois. Growing up, I did not have many resources when applying to college, and did not know anything about the medical field. I created Rural Girls in Medicine with another medical student, Michael Diaz, at the University of Florida College of Medicine, in hopes to provide resources for girls like me who want to be doctors someday but do not know where to begin.

With limited opportunity to enroll in advanced coursework and receive quality STEM mentorship in rural regions, it is extraordinarily difficult for students from my background to understand and navigate their path to medicine. Rural Girls in Medicine's ambition is to eliminate these obstacles through free-of-charge virtual mentorship with current medical students, online seminars led by active female physicians, and soft skills training sessions. RGM will further serve to aid its membership in applying for scholarships, shadowing medical professionals in their communities, and other topics pertinent to achieving their goals!