"To find health should be the object of the doctor. Anyone can find disease."  —Andrew T. Still, MD, DO


"As a family physician, my job is listening to people's stories."
—Jon S. Hallberg, MD

Meet With Us

Pre-Health Career Advising is for all matriculated Cal Poly students and alumni who are pursuing or applying to graduate programs in the health professions. These include: medicine, dentistry, nursing, physician assistant, physical therapy, optometry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, occupational therapy, chiropractic, podiatry, clinical lab science, genetic counseling, and public health. We see students regardless of major, provided they have this goal. ​

Drop-In Hours With Peer Advisors

Peer advisors are upper-division, pre-health students who can assist you with planning health profession prerequisites, finding and choosing experiences on campus and in SLO, and connect you with resources for test preparation. Having been in your shoes before, they are a great resource for all first-year, second-year, or newly interested pre-health students. They are available on a drop-in basis (15-20 minutes) during the hours listed below.

Peer Advising is available only during weeks 1-10 of fall, winter and spring quarters, and limited hours over the summer term.

Drop-In Hours (In-Person and Virtual Options)

Each peer advisor is well-equipped to advise students from any major on any of the health professions. You do NOT have to meet with an advisor that has the same major or career interest as you.

  • Drop-in hours are fluid and may change from week to week. Check the below grid at the beginning of each week to confirm when the peer advisors are available.
  • The hours below marked with *two asterisks around them* and bolded in red are virtual.
  • Hours without asterisks, and without the red color are in person only.

SUMMER QUARTER DROP-IN HOURS (subject to change)

**virtual hours**

Peer Advisor  MONDAY   TUESDAY   WEDNESDAY THURSDAY FRIDAY 

Cassidy Serino

Kinesiology,

Pre-PA

N/A N/A

N/A

N/A N/A

Sarah Ternus

Biology,

Pre-Med

N/A N/A

N/A

**11-12PM**

 

N/A

 

Sherry Lin

Public Health,

Pre-RN

N/A 1-2PM **10-11AM** N/A N/A

PLEASE only use the Zoom during hours highlighted in red and with asterisks! Zoom Meeting ID: 858 7839 1994 (https://calpoly.zoom.us/j/85878391994)

Should I Meet With a Peer Advisor or a Staff Advisor?

Reasons to Drop-In With a Pre-Health Peer Advisor

  • You are exploring or currently unsure of which health career is right for you
  • You are a prospective, first-year, or newly enrolled student interested in a career in healthcare
  • Registration/course scheduling assistance (primarily for prerequisite coursework)
  • Find out how to get health-related, leadership, community service, and/or research experience
  • Entrance exam preparation and information
  • Admissions requirements for particular programs and schools

Reasons to Schedule an Appointment With a Staff Advisor

  • Personal statement assistance and review
  • Application assistance and review
  • Grades/GPA concerns for health professional schools
  • Post-baccalaureate programs and gap year options

Peer Advisors​

The four peer advisors are current upper-division students currently in the process of working towards their health professional school goals. First and second-year students, as well as those who have just decided that they plan to pursue a career in healthcare, should meet with the peer advisors during their drop-in hours in fall, winter, and spring quarters. 


Emily Joyce
Public Health
Pre-PA

 


Julian Ahlstrom
Biology
Pre-Med

 


Sarah Ternus
Biology
Pre-Med

 


Sherry Lin
Public Health
Pre-PA

 

Staff Advisors​ (Planned Appointments Only)

The pre-health and academic staff advisors are available to students when they reach the point of being ready to apply to health professions’ school(s). Typically you would meet with a staff advisor as a third/fourth-year or alumni student who has completed their pre-requisite coursework, accumulated a resume of experiences, taken their entrance exam(s), and have already met with a peer advisor. Staff advisors can help you assess how competitive of an applicant you are and make recommendations for proceeding. To schedule an appointment with a staff advisor, you can click on their name or photo below or click here to schedule with the next available advisor.

NEW for 2025-2026: All staff advisors meet with students interested in pursuing medicine, physician assistant, and nursing careers. For all other health profession careers, advisors are assigned to specific careers to support students pursuing those career pathways.

All Pre-Health Advisors: Medicine (MD/DO), Nursing (RN, NP etc.), Physician Assistant (PA)

  • Anya (Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, Podiatric Medicine)
  • Kristi (Athletic Training; Naturopathic Medicine)
  • Laura - Out for summer and will return in September. (Genetic Counseling, Public Health, Speech Language Pathology & Audiology)
  • Shonna (Chiropractic Medicine, Dentistry, Veterinary Medicine)
  • Annastatius (Pharmacy, Optometry, Clinical Lab Science) 
 
 

Kristi Weddige

Anya Bergman

Laura Wilson

 

Shonna Davis

 

Annastatius Olson

 

 

Pre-Health Canvas

For current Cal Poly students, the Pre-Health Advisors maintain a Canvas webpage which contains many additional resources to this website, including presentations, handouts, sample personal statements, and interview feedback. To sign up for access to the Pre-Health Canvas page, please email prehealth@calpoly.edu with your Cal Poly email address. Once enrolled, you can access the page via your Canvas Dashboard. 

Related Content

Pre-Health Canvas Page

Stay up-to-date with pre-health events and opportunities by joining our canvas page! Email prehealth@calpoly.edu to be added!

Canvas Page Info

Drop-in With a Peer Advisor

Hours are subject to change, so please check the "Meet With Us" page regularly!

Pre-Health Peer Advising

Pre-Health Calendar

View and sign up for upcoming application workshops, personal statement workshops, presentations, and other events hosted by our office!

Pre-Health Events

Book Appointment

Book a Pre-Health or General Advising appointment with an Academic & Pre-Health Advisor!

Book Appointment

DEI in the Bailey College

Learn More