Southwestern Magazine | Spring 2022

22 SOUTHWESTERN Mohammed majored in biology and minored in Spanish at Southwestern before going on to earn her M.D. at Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica. As a medical student, she facilitated the first HIV/AIDS symposium in the island nation. Today, she is a board-certified family medicine physician at a medical practice in Dallas that focuses on geriatric care and providing accessible and equitable healthcare in communities that are underserved. In 2020, she was awarded the Texas Academy of Family Physicians Humanitarian Physician of the Year Award. Mohammed encourages Southwestern students to be open to new opportunities. “I truly believe in stretching yourself in ways you may not have done before. It is in the stretching we learn the most about ourselves,” she says. AmandaMohammed ’08 Marshall received her B.S. in biology from Southwestern and her M.D. from the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Today, she is a teaching physician at Geisinger, a health system based in Danville, Pennsylvania, where she specializes in pediatric and adolescent gynecology. A fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Marshall teaches students at all levels, from college to medical school and on through residency and fellowship training. She knew she was going to attend Southwestern from the first moment she visited. “The beautiful campus, engaged faculty, unparalleled academic reputation, and authentic and kind people all made coming to Southwestern the easy choice,” she says. “There is no other place quite like it.” BrytanieMarshall ’08 Stern was a history and political science double major at Southwestern before going on to earn his master’s degree in public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He currently serves as a specialist in natural resources policy at the Congressional Research Service, where he provides nonpartisan information and analysis on water policy in the western United States for members of Congress and their staff. He has testified before Congress on multiple occasions and regularly helps congressional staff draft legislation. Stern advises students not to get discouraged if they don’t initially land their dream internship or job: “Rest assured that if you work hard and are confident, talented, and—perhaps most importantly—persistent, you are likely to find success.” Charlie Stern ’04 A political science major and history minor, Meek earned her master’s degree in social work from the University of Georgia. She currently is senior director of legislative affairs at the American Network of Community Options and Resources, a national trade association for private providers of services to people with disabilities. In this role, she directs the organization’s federal advocacy efforts and manages relationships with Congress and the administration. She credits her academic training at Southwestern with helping her look at issues and problems from many sides and find creative solutions. “My classes taught me to be a critical thinker, which is an incredibly powerful skill as a lobbyist (and as a person in the world),” she says. SarahMeek ’04 After graduating with a B.A. in political science, Scheinman earned a certificate in U.S foreign policy and economics and a certificate in economics of nonprofits from George Mason University. He completed a Coro Fellowship in Public Affairs in St. Louis, Missouri, later serving as the mayor’s liaison to the Board of Aldermen. Today, he is a local policy lead at Square and Cash App, where he collaborates with local and state officials on policies and efforts to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Scheinman appreciates how Southwestern’s smaller class sizes allows students to debate one another in a respectful environment. “Through these rich discussions and multiple office hours with my incredible professors, I was able to fine-tune my critical-thinking skills and challenge myself to juggle multiple truths simultaneously,” he says. Jay Scheinman ’15