Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2020

shemade at college and a number of her professors. She comes back to visit. Better still, she’s engaged to a fellow Southwestern Pirate. A few months ago, Del Real was paired through Captain’s Academy with Neha Momin. Momin was born and raised in Austin, Texas. Her mother is from India, and her father is from Pakistan. Both arrived in the U.S. in their teens and finished high school in the States. Neither went to college, but they always pushed Momin in that direction. “Education has always been a big deal in my family,” she shares. Momin says that, over summer break, her mom would buy a workbook with assignments at the next grade level, and they would work through the problems together. She would take summer classes, she would enroll in the summer reading program at the public library, and her parents would drop her off early before school for tutoring. Like Del Real, Momin knew early on that she wanted a career in the medical field. When she was younger, she would watch curi- ously as her grandfather, who had diabetes, took his own insulin shots and tested his blood pressure or sugar levels. Momin, now a sophomore, plans to major in biochemistry. “There’s a stereotype where Indian parents want their kids to become doctors,” says Momin. “My parents are like, ‘Do whatever you want. Just get a good education.’” Momin also puts pressure on herself. She overloads on credits (she’s currently taking physics, organic chemistry, lifespan development, and pathophysiology) and stresses about getting all A s. After she graduates, Momin plans on attending medical school. Due to their shared interest in the medical profession, it’s easy to see why Del Real and Momin were matched together. They’ve been paired for about two months but have been texting back and forth. “From the conversations that I’ve had with Janet so far, I could tell that she was and is definitely very ambitious,” said Momin. “She knew what she wanted to do, and I definitely feel the same way.” Even though Momin and Del Real are still getting to know one another, there are enough similarities between them that they can see themselves in each other: two ambitious women with aspirations in the medical field and immigrant parents who worked incredibly hard for them and their educations. Happy finals week! Del Real texted Momin a few weeks after their November chat. Momin texted her back, saying it was nice to hear from her. I have a pathophysiology final at 1:30 today, she added. A lot of finals and papers due this week. If you have an interest in mentoring a first-generation Southwestern student, contact the Office of Alumni and Parent Relations at alumni@southwestern.edu. Alumni are being connected through the Southwestern University Alumni Association’s initiatives to support the Captain’s Academy program. "That class in itself helped me find a niche of people who looked like me, who had come from similar backgrounds, and who I knew would share my college experiences. " 23 SOUTHWESTERN