Trial by Fire
By Grace maeda
Alexis Benjamin chose to be a part of the solution in 2020. Utilizing her education and channelling her passion for medicine, Alexis worked tirelessly on the frontlines during the COVID-19 pandemic. While doing so, she learned that with support and perseverance, it’s possible to tackle any challenge.
In July of 2020, Alexis started working in her community as a medical concierge at St. John’s Riverside Hospital in Yonkers. Walking through the doors of the hospital, Alexis always has a coffee in hand and is exhilarated by the unpredictability of a new day. Every shift brings new patients, cases, and opportunities to provide valuable services.
“I’m not cut out for a nine to five job,” Alexis says. “I love the emergency room because I walk into some shifts and everything goes normal. Other days I have absolutely wild cases.”
As a full-time employee on a small team, Alexis’s contributions are essential and her responsibilities vary every day. She provides COVID-19 swabs, takes telehealth calls, and works as a scribe for doctors in the emergency room.
Another important component to Alexis’s job is linking patients with primary care physicians. “We are ensuring patients have the continuum of care and have follow-ups once they’ve left the hospital,” Alexis explains. As a medical concierge, it’s crucial to connect patients with physicians for follow-up appointments, which can be quite difficult at times.
“Honestly, working through COVID-19 has completely changed my outlook on medicine,” Alexis says. “I learned a lot about healthcare disparities and how the place you live in and your access to healthcare has such a huge impact on your overall health — physically, mentally, socially.”
Illustration by Sydney Kysar
From an early age, Alexis was exposed to the medical field because her mom is a nurse and has always had an interest in science. By the time Alexis arrived at Marist, she knew she wanted to pursue anatomy and human health. Ultimately, it was when she began volunteering and shadowing in hospitals and clinics that Alexis realized the career path she wanted to take. “I decided I want to be a doctor — to be the best type of advocate for my patients.”
During her sophomore year at Marist, Alexis started volunteering at the Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center, a subacute children’s facility in Yonkers. This experience sparked Alexis’s interest in working with children and played a significant factor in her decision to become a doctor. With her medical skills and caring nature, Alexis witnessed how she could provide her young patients with crucial healthcare and continued to volunteer through her senior year. After her years of volunteering at Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center, Alexis plans to become a pediatric subspecialist.
In addition to volunteering at Elizabeth Seton Children’s Center and shadowing medical professionals in the community, Alexis remained incredibly involved on the Marist campus. She balanced a heavy academic load as a Biomedical Sciences student in the Honors Program, was a member of Marist Singers, and served as the president of the pre-health fraternity. To supplement her academic studies, Alexis was a teaching assistant for genetics and developmental biology, and she also conducted genetics research for three semesters.
For nearly four years, Alexis worked constantly to prepare herself with crucial skills and experiences for medical school. By March 2020, Alexis was studying for the MCAT, an eight hour test dictating her chances for medical school, while also feeling the pressure of finishing her senior year. But life came crashing down with the outbreak of COVID-19.
“I was absolutely devastated to be working so hard for so many years and then have it all cut short at the end. It was totally earth-shattering,” Alexis recalls. “It took me some time to get over.”
It was deeply disappointing to be putting in long hours to finish school, to then learn the celebrations for years of hard work are cancelled. “It wasn’t the brightest point in my academic career,” Alexis admits.
Despite feeling frustrated and heartbroken, Alexis watched as the world also struggled and felt a similar sense of loss. She kept returning to the question, “Well, what am I going to do about it?” Alexis realized this was an opportunity to employ the education and experience she gained the last four years. She told herself, “I’m not a student anymore. It’s time to do what I can.”
Alexis worked on the front lines with the team at St. John’s Riverside Hospital. She worked in the emergency room as an essential member of the community, putting her health on the line to help those battling COVID-19. While working through the pandemic, Alexis gained invaluable experience, preparing her for a career as a doctor. She also realized the importance of community support. “Leaning on the people I work with is very real,” Alexis shares. “I’ve learned that by leaning on one another, we can persevere through almost anything.”
The team at St. John’s Riverside Hospital is extremely close. Alexis says their bond was strengthened more from working through the pandemic. “We’ve gotten the opportunity to get to know each other really well because we’re always in the hospital,” Alexis shares.
By August of 2021, Alexis will become a student once again when she attends medical school. She is setting out on a career path inspired by her mother. Alexis says, “My mom always says, ‘Life is short, do everything you want to do, and accomplish as much as you can.”
FOR THE RECORD UNCUT
OBJECT PHOTOGRAPHY
Photography by Bobby Oliver
For this year’s project, we asked our Changemakers to bring items that had meaning to them to the shoot.
“My graduation cap: To signify where I've been. My educational and personal journey has been filled with unique research, abroad experiences, and memories. I am proud of my accomplishments and appreciative of those who helped me along the way.
My stethoscope: To signify where I'm going. My journey to becoming a doctor is just beginning as I enter the Jacobs School of Medicine at the University at Buffalo this August where I will graduate as an MD in 2025.
My grandfather's watch: To signify how I got there. My grandfather passed away when I was four years old. His life and legacy are some of my greatest inspirations to love loudly and proudly. I would not be where I am today without my support system of my family and friends.”