A Mission of Mentoring

As a mentor for the Women of Tomorrow Mentor and Scholarship Program (WOT), Todra Anderson, M.D., is committed to helping young girls achieve their full potential.

Anderson, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of community outreach, recently arranged for a group of 28 Miami Springs Senior High School students to gain hands-on experience in health care. On December 5, the girls were given a tour of Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Women’s Hospital Center and the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital Center for Patient Safety.

The event exemplified WOT’s mission to enrich the lives of teenage girls in the public school system through monthly mentoring sessions with professional women. It was organized by Laura Calzolari, the OB/GYN department’s development director, who serves as a mentor for the girls. Anderson, who has been mentoring young women for several years, worked closely with Calzolari to facilitate the visit.

During the girls’ visit to the Miller School, Anderson spoke about safe sex and sexually transmitted diseases, the human papillomavirus vaccine, and other women’s health issues. Later, she joined the group at the Center for Patient Safety, where she led a birthing simulation. The girls also participated in an operating room simulation led by the center’s associate director Joshua Lenchus, D.O., and nurse specialist Ruth Everett-Thomas.

At Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Women’s Hospital Center, the girls met with clinical educators Marcia Chacon and Vashti Laing, who spoke about their experiences in nursing and led a tour of the nursery and the labor and delivery floor.

“The personal interactions with mentors and volunteers allow the girls to see that they, too, can aspire to be excellent health care providers if they really want to,” says Anderson. “It reinforces what we say at our meetings: ‘You can do it; have a plan and be serious about your education and your future.’”