Simone Gabriel joined us as a WISCIENCE Peer Leader in spring 2024. Peer Leaders are undergraduate students who support their peers in WISCIENCE programs and courses while learning valuable leadership skills. Find out more about Simone and her experience as a Peer Leader!
Pronouns: She/her
Peer Leader for: Exploring Biology (INTEGSCI 100)
Major: Health Promotion & Health Equity, Pre-Medical Track; Leadership Certificate, Health & the Humanities Certificate
Hometown: Hudson Valley, NY
If you could choose anyone for a mentor, who would it be?
Priscilla Shirer
What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
I am an undergraduate researcher in the Patankar Lab at UW’s Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, and have the privilege of being a mentor for UW-Health’s HOPE mentorship program. I work as a Resident Assistant in memory care in my spare time as well. On campus, I serve as the Event Coordinating Cipher Co-Lead for the Blk Pwr Coalition, and a member of the student organization, GLAM Squad! Occasionally, I host campus events and shows for programs like the MSC, Posse, and the Black Student Union! I am also a Student Brand Ambassador for Kaplan on the side.
What do you like most about Madison?
I love how Madison brings people from so many different places onto one campus. If you take the opportunity, you have a chance to learn about so many cultures and backgrounds! (p.s., take the opportunity!!)
If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?
If I could be any animal, I would probably be an orca. I feel like they’re very powerful animals, and really have little to no competition in their environment.
What is your hidden talent?
My hidden talent is memorizing musical soundtracks. I could probably sing most of In the Heights, The Wiz, Hamilton, Shrek the Musical. Very short lived acting career, but lots of fun!
What is an academic accomplishment that you are proud of?
I am most proud of my research career. I’ve always been passionate about women’s health. I won many awards for my research on racial and ethnic disparities in prenatal care, and now working on novel treatments for epithelial ovarian cancer, I feel like I am doing work that will truly change the world.
What sparked your interest in STEM?
While in middle school, seeing positive role models in my life that were involved in medicine sparked my initial interest in STEM. Also, being able to integrate my own interests with an amazing career, all while having power to make a difference on small and large scales, was a super exciting concept to me.
What is your vision for life after graduation?
After graduation, I plan on attending medical school, ultimately looking to have a career in gynecologic oncology back home in New York. As a doctor, I would like to work with underserved populations that are affected by racial and ethnic health disparities.
What advice would you give a friend considering becoming a peer leader?
I would tell my friend to be their genuine self while working with students. Share your accomplishments, and more importantly, your failures, with them. It’s so helpful to hear from someone in a mentor role that not everything goes to plan, and even through that, you can still accomplish your goals! There is this “perfect” image of an upperclassman in a role like this sometimes, and I believe it is very comforting for students to know that we don’t just wake up this successful! We work hard, we win, and we lose, and that’s what makes us the amazing Peer Leaders we are!
What have you learned through your experience of being a peer leader?
Through my experience as a peer leader, I have truly realized how important mentorship is. It’s absolutely a two-way street! Guiding students through that first semester and encouraging them becomes a way to remember to give yourself grace, be kind to yourself, and keep pushing yourself. When you take full advantage of the Peer Leader experience, it is so reflective and molding—and I can truly say that it has changed me as a person, for the better!
Meet the rest of the WISCIENCE Peer Leaders.
Learn more about the WISCIENCE Peer Leader program.