Miss Capital City 2020 Anna Bridgeman
Miss Capital City Anna Bridgeman is a junior at Carleton College in Northfield, Minnesota, studying Biology and Biochemistry. Her dream is to become a practicing physician, specializing in interventional radiology. Anna is a pre-medical peer mentor and welcomes visitors to Carleton as a campus tour guide and admissions ambassador. She is certified in basic life support and mental health first aid. She works as a Carleton Biology lab teaching assistant and has volunteered at the Northfield Hospital birth center and medical/surgical floor. She is also currently involved with a biology research project on the use of augmented reality in biochemistry teaching. Last summer, she spent over 200 hours volunteering at a free clinic, helping uninsured patients access quality healthcare. Since beginning college, she has spent more than 250 hours shadowing physicians and other healthcare professionals.
In her time at Carleton, Anna has had the opportunity to get involved with a myriad of impactful academic projects. This past fall, she worked with HealthFinders clinic to assess the impact of telehealth on patient care, and presented her findings to clinic leadership. She also had the opportunity to work alongside professors and peers to present a seminar to the Carleton biology department on the lasting impacts of medical racism and the Tuskegee Study. Most recently, she had the opportunity to work as a student editor on Wikipedia helping to communicate science information--check out her newly revamped article on opportunistic infections! Anna is one of Carleton's Be the Match program directors, and, in addition to organizing campus-wide registration drives, serves as a liaison to the national organization. Be The Match is the largest and most diverse stem cell registry in the world. They work to pair potential donors with patients in need of life-saving transplants. Although over 70 diseases and disorders can be treated with stem cell and bone marrow transplants, 70% of patients do not have a match within their family. Registration is a quick and easy process involving a cheek swab and an online form. With this step, anyone can potentially help save the life of one of their "tissue twins." Her parents, younger brother and two dogs live in Fayetteville, Georgia, where Anna grew up. When she returns to Georgia on breaks, she likes to spend some time returning to her high school job as an instructor at a local paint and sip DIY studio! Transplanting to Minnesota for college, Anna feels like she found her home. Having performed in over 15 musicals in middle and high school, she used those skills at Carleton where she directed a 24 hour play. She loves the tight knit community at Carleton and is looking forward to getting to know her Miss Minnesota sisters as they prepare for the state competition in June. |
photo by Paula Preston
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