A Dose Of Mentoring

Katherine Martinez, ’23, and Autumn Banks, ’23, were both drawn to Health Outreach Baltimore (HOB) the moment they learned about it.

The partnership between Loyola University Maryland and Mercy Medical Center—which celebrated its 10th anniversary last fall—pairs pre-health students with Baltimore families in need of social resources. It’s led by Maiju Lehmijoki Wetzel, Ph.D., BSN, R.N., Loyola’s director of pre-health programs, who has shaped the program and mentored many student participants in HOB over the past decade.

Banks, who graduated with a biopsychology degree, was one of them. She saw HOB as an extension of her high school hospital internship. “I loved the mission and the opportunity to serve the community I’m from,” said the Baltimore native.

For Martinez—who studied biochemistry and Spanish at Loyola—meeting Wetzel during a visit to campus as a prospective student helped solidify her decision to attend Loyola. “I’d never heard of a program like that, where we were in a hospital and working directly with patients,” she said.

Through the program, more than 25 student advocates work throughout the academic year, witnessing firsthand the gaps in community resources for underserved communities. “We were on the front lines, connecting clients to essential services,” Martinez remembered. “One of my first clients was a single mom with six kids. I’m one of five, and it was the first time I truly realized how lucky I am.”

Wetzel believes giving pre-health students this strong understanding of ethics, inequality, and social justice is crucial at the undergraduate level, as most will go on to study medicine or work in other health professions. “It’s about making sure students are well-rounded in understanding their duties toward their fellow human beings,” she said.

Students participating in HOB not only work with patients but also have weekly reflection sessions. For Banks, these sessions were some of her favorite moments. “We talked about the tangible impact we were making—the patients we helped find groceries or cribs for, or signed up for insurance,” she said. “It was really powerful.”

Martinez has continued those lessons in medical school at Mayo Clinic’s Alix School of Medicine, where she volunteers at shelters and works at a free clinic. “Social determinants of health are so crucial to health care,” she reflected. “HOB has given me such a good foundation for this work.”

Banks also credits the program with her decision to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner through Yale’s accelerated nursing program. “HOB pushed me out of my comfort zone. It showed me the importance of a holistic approach, not just looking at a piece of paper. I knew that I loved bedside care from those experiences.”

AIt’s not surprising that both women cite Wetzel as a mentor. Martinez, in fact, is paying it forward by mentoring current medical school applicants, and she still finds herself texting Wetzel for advice. “Having someone to contact now, 18 months after graduation, and say, ‘Can you help me with this?’ is so crucial to my success.”

Banks agrees: “Even when I doubted myself, Dr. Wetzel encouraged me and helped me see what I had already accomplished. She’s just been an incredible mentor.”

A large part of her role as a leader is to get out of students’ way, explained Wetzel. “I provide the framework and structure for HOB, but then give the students ownership over the program,” she said. “I try to be a supportive presence in the background, listening and providing guidance when needed, but really letting the students lead.”

Wetzel has a simple message for the many students she’s mentored: “You don’t need to pay me back, but you are obligated to be a mentor for the next generation,” she said.