Volunteer work changed senior’s plan

Alexis Anderson, left, will delay medical school to teach elementary school students in Camden, N.J., this fall—a decision she made after instructing children, such as Waring Elementary fourth-grader Laraea Strieby (right), at an after-school tutoring program.

For Temple senior Alexis Anderson, inspiration is most powerful when it is witnessed, not heard. In her experience, even the most forceful rhetoric is ineffective when not grounded in proof and genuine examples. These beliefs, practically a mantra for Anderson, have driven her to use her intelligence and gregarious personality to be a positive influence in her community—whether it was growing up in Neptune, N.J., or among her present neighbors, the North Philadelphians who border Temple’s Main Campus. No matter the situation—as one of the few minorities in her hometown with the talent and good fortune to attend a charter school, as a mentor to some of Philadelphia’s most at-risk children through a tutoring program, or as an African-American woman en route to medical school—Anderson seizes opportunities to be visible to those who share her most obvious traits: race and gender.

“Being biracial, a female and in the sciences, it can be very frustrating to see that there are very few others like me,” Anderson said. “A lot of what I do in friendships, school and my career is work to break stereotypes of black women. I’m very conscious of who I am and the way that someone could perceive me. But no matter how far I get, I will never forget who I am.”

Anderson anticipates another moment as a beacon for black women when, after just three years of college, she receives her degree as the banner bearer for the College of Science and Technology at today’s Commencement ceremony.

“This will be a big moment for me,” said 20-year-old Anderson. “My mom was the first in her family to go to college, but I’m the oldest and first to do it among my siblings. But this is just the first step, because my mom has instilled in all of us that we need to go on and do even better than her.”

Anderson, however, will put off her mother’s advice in the short term. Rather than enter medical school this fall, she will enter a third-grade classroom in Camden, N.J., after receiving emergency certification as a teacher. Her decision to teach inner-city youth was born of her positive experiences instructing children at an after-school tutoring program managed by Temple Honors students at the Cozen Police Athletic League in Philadelphia’s Francisville neighborhood.

“That’s why I wanted to finish college in three years: to be able to teach for a year or two and give back to the community,” Anderson said. “Tutoring children while at Temple made me reevaluate what I want to do with my life and what my goals are. I need to be as visible as possible for students who might need someone to look up to.”

Unlike many of the children she hopes to reach, Anderson had a sturdy role model—her mother, Gertrude Casselle—throughout her upbringing.

“She’s not just my rock, she’s the whole wall,” Anderson said of her mother, a social worker. “She can’t really help me with organic chemistry, but she can lend her support. She’s been there throughout college to help me through it.”

At a young age, Anderson’s mother inspired her to become a doctor. When she was 8 years old, her younger brother suffered a hernia and needed surgery. Anderson said she worried that he would “feel the doctors cutting him and that he’d be awake to feel the pain.” Her mother reassured her that an anesthesiologist would numb her brother and alleviate his pain. Since that day, Anderson said she has wanted to be an anesthesiologist.

Unlike many short-lived juvenile fancies of playing pro sports or fighting fires, Anderson’s goal is within reach because her mother cleared a successful path for her.

“Ever since I knew that I wanted to be an anesthesiologist, my mom has made sure that I’ve been able to achieve that,” she said. “She got me into a magnet school for medicine. She gave me whatever advantages she could and put me on this track. I credit her with everything I’ve been able to accomplish.”

As a tribute to her mother, Anderson plans to work in an urban hospital and influence young women in the same way that her mother motivated her.

“It’s not necessarily a matter of providing free health care—it’s beyond that,” she said. “I just want kids to be able to see me as a doctor. Some of life’s biggest inspirations are never spoken but seen.”

Though her career in anesthesiology has been delayed in favor of teaching children, Anderson feels she’s already achieved part of her dream.

“Some people take issue with me being a woman and applying for medical school,” she said. “Some people take issue with me being black and applying for medical school. Dealing with the stereotypes makes me want to work twice as hard, just to show that I can excel, too.

“I have friends and family who are really excited for me,” she added. “I get a lot of support from them. Even if I never become a doctor, in their eyes, I will always be a doctor to them.” — Ted Boscia