Her Story
About Alexis
I co-founded Women in Pre-Med Incorporated with my twin sister Alaya when we were sophomores in college about four years ago. We both identified a critical need at our small, rural university for a club where women could come together and really support each other to pursue careers in the healthcare field. Growing up, we've always been interested in being entrepreneurs and starting some type of company that would create an everlasting impact on women. I'm a feminist, and I love working with women and all the great things that women have done in today's society. Our organization is a national nonprofit that supports women of all racial backgrounds interested in pursuing degrees in the healthcare field. We offer in-person events within chapters, community service outreach, and networking and programming. It's really very important to have a group of women who are kind of going through the same aspects or fields in life with you, and you have that sense of sisterhood, coming together and really developing together, and going on to doing great things and accomplishing your career. As National Board Chair for over a year now, I start my day with meetings across various departments, work closely with Alaya (our CEO) on work culture and operations, manage suppliers for member products, assist with training and onboarding new committee members, and handle public relations and media outreach. The biggest challenges we face as a startup nonprofit are brand visibility and fundraising logistics, since we didn't have any experience or guidance starting out. We're learning from past experiences and incorporating new training modules from others who have been in similar positions.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Alexis
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would attribute my success to primarily just helping others and being able to provide resources, in addition to also being able to learn from others as well. Being patient and caring are qualities that have been essential for me. Going through the different stages of a startup company is like an emotional rollercoaster sometimes, but being able to have that support system with my sister and the members of our organization, and having them trust us and see the vision and mission of the organization, has been crucial to our success.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received is to be patient and to not rush into anything that comes your way. This is something that has stuck with me along the road, getting this advice from people who've already been in those established careers for over a few years. Just being patient has been invaluable guidance for me.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My piece of advice would be to be resilient and don't give up, just because things are not looking promising, or just because things are not coming together the way they should be coming together, or the way you hoped for it to come together. You know, just keep trying, keep pushing and striving, and you'll see the fruits of your labor eventually. Being resilient is key.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I would say because we are a startup nonprofit, the biggest challenge is definitely brand visibility. Because we're new, a lot of people don't often always quite know who we are as an organization and the work that we do. Another major challenge is fundraising and learning the logistics of that. Both my sister and I didn't have really any experience or guidance coming in, so a lot of the stuff that we're working our way up to is pretty much learning from past experiences, while also incorporating new training modules and learning from others who have been in similar roles and positions as us.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Some of the values that are very important in both my personal and professional life include having that balance of interpersonal skills, being able to know how to communicate with your team, with your members, with donors, and being able to know how to communicate outside of the work field as well. Having a very positive attitude is crucial because there are so many problems and challenges that every company faces on a day-to-day basis, and knowing how to work around them is very important. Having that positive attitude and approach is one of the values that I like to express, and it's something that's also dearly valued to me.
Keep Exploring
More Influential Women · Georgia
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.