Education Committee Self Nomination for Reagan Collins

I'm a 4th-year medical student at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and have been involved with the AAS since 2020. My journey with AAS began when a mentor encouraged me to submit an abstract, leading to my first presentation at the virtual Academic Surgical Congress in 2021. Since then, I have found an incredible community of colleagues, collaborators, and mentors who have significantly influenced my research and career aspirations. I now want to actively contribute to this community by serving on an AAS committee, providing similar opportunities and resources to fellow trainees.

My commitment to the AAS is reflected in my past involvement, including moderating a Tweet Chat on 'Student Engagement in Surgical Professional Societies,' where we discussed the importance of student participation in academic surgery. I also collaborated with the AAS Mental Health Task Force to develop a national survey focused on surgeon mental health and well-being. More recently, I led the initiative to allow medical students to self-nominate for AAS committees and currently oversee the monthly AAS Medical Student Task Force meetings, organizing events such as the recent 'How to Write an Abstract' webinar which attracted over 150 attendees.

Understanding the barriers many students face in engaging with academic surgery, my goal in serving on an AAS committee is to provide resources that support students in pursuing academic surgery, regardless of their institutional, racial/ethnic, or socioeconomic background.

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2021-2024