Meet the Supermentors

AMP Honors is proud to work with a group of dedicated undergraduate  and graduate students, plus young professionals, collectively known as Supermentors. Our Supermentors are experienced and passionate individuals members can turn to for peer-to-peer advice and guidance regarding educational and career development.

Antonia Amidon
Antonia AmidonPhD Student
Antonia is a PhD student in the Biomedical Sciences program at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW). She graduated from the University of California, Riverside (UCR) with a BS in Cell, Molecular, and Developmental Biology in 2020 and a Master of Medical Physiology degree from MCW in 2022. Her PhD project will be decided after she completes rotations. She’s interested in studying human development and regenerative medicine in eye diseases. During her undergraduate career she was involved in many on campus activities such as being a University Honors Ambassador and Event Management Intern. Her love for teaching led her to become a Peer Educator and Peer Mentor for the incoming freshman at UCR. She also worked as a Standardized Patient where she incorporated her love for acting with education. She likes to stay active, and her hobbies include running, tennis, and playing the guitar. She also enjoys practicing Pilates and yoga, and recently took up the martial art of Kendo.
Ryan Amidon
Ryan AmidonMedical Student
Ryan is pursuing dual MD and MS (in Clinical and Translational Science) degrees at the Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. He graduated from the University of California, Riverside in 2019 with a BS in Neuroscience. During his undergraduate years, he worked as a peer mentor and a tutor for academically struggling students, volunteered in emergency department, adult inpatient, and hospice settings, and performed biochemistry research, becoming a Chancellor’s Research Fellow as a senior. Outside of the classroom, he enjoyed martial arts in the university Kendo and Wushu teams. During his gap years, he worked in a neuroscience research lab and as a site lead for health coaches at a community health center. His passion for patient care and research led him to pursue a dual degree that would support a career that involves both. He enjoys physical activities including running, swimming, skiing, and calisthenics as well as designing terrariums. Currently, he practices Kendo at the Milwaukee Koyokai Kendo Club.
Riley Coon
Riley CoonMedical Student
Riley is a medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin regional campus in Green Bay. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in May 2019 with a Bachelor of Science degree while majoring in biomedical sciences and minoring in chemistry. He grew up in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, a small community just west of Madison. During his undergraduate years he worked as a medical scribe in the emergency department, coached team basketball for Special Olympics, volunteered as a first responder, and worked as a direct support professional in a group home setting. In his free time, he enjoys both playing and watching basketball, football, golf, volleyball, and tennis. He also likes reading and consuming multimedia including music, TV shows, movies, and podcasts (Armchair Expert, Radiolab, Huberman Lab, The Tim Ferris Show, Dissect, Heavyweight, etc.). He is currently applying to family medicine residencies across the country and has a particular interest in sports medicine and hospital medicine.
Justin Ferkin
Justin FerkinMedical Student
Justin is a medical student at Campbell University School of Osteopathic Medicine in North Carolina. Justin’s love for medicine was discovered inadvertently while becoming an emergency medical technician. After becoming an EMT, he went on to complete firefighter training, hazardous material operations, and became a paramedic. Justin worked as an emergency department paramedic, and as a firefighter/paramedic for the Village of Pleasant Prairie. Aside from school and work, Justin also enjoys lifting weights and hiking. His passion to serve as a Supermentor stems from him being a first-generation college student. His mission is to help others realize that they are capable of achieving greatness regardless of race, gender, or any societal label placed upon them.
Stephanie Franczak
Stephanie FranczakUndergraduate
Stephanie graduated from the University of Notre Dame in May of 2022, where she majored in science preprofessional studies and psychology. She is currently applying to medical school with the hopes of attending starting in the fall of 2023, after taking a gap year. Throughout the summer Stephanie is working as a clinical research assistant at the Medical College of Wisconsin; specifically, assisting on ALS research projects in the neuromuscular program. She is also volunteering at the Bread of Healing Clinic in Milwaukee, a service opportunity she feels she was lucky enough to begin at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Stephanie has also received a grant from the Kosciuszko Foundation to conduct research at the Medical University of Warsaw. Her project in Warsaw will investigate the enhancement of homing and engraftment of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) from circulating blood to bone marrow following transplantation. She has wide-ranging interests in medicine and remains open-minded in terms of the specialty she will ultimately enter. Her current interests include sports medicine, emergency medicine, the neurosciences, and surgery.
Luke Honari
Luke HonariUndergraduate
Luke is originally from Bellevue, Washington, but is currently attending Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, where he is a psychology major, with interest in applying to medical school after graduation. Luke is involved in a few clubs at LSU, but is mostly involved as the president of the Lions for Medicine pre-med club and the vice-president of the psychology club. Luke really enjoys these leadership roles because it allows him to connect with his peers and find beneficial opportunities for everyone. In additional Luke is involved with research at LMU in the Health and Human Sciences Department. The research involves blood flow restriction with exercise to determine how various factors change over time. During this opportunity he has learned how to use an ultrasound machine and work with participants. Luke has also been involved with teaching middle and high school students financial literacy skills. He enjoys spending time with his family and friends, going to the beach, hiking, and playing tennis.
Taylor LaChapelle
Taylor LaChapelleMedical Student
Taylor graduated from the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse in May of 2021 with a Bachelor of Science, majoring in Exercise and Sport Science and minoring in Nutrition. She worked as a CNA during her gap year before starting medical school at Des Moines University in the fall of 2022. Taylor grew up in Adams-Friendship, a small town in central Wisconsin, where she was valedictorian of her graduating class. She has had the desire to pursue a career in healthcare since middle school. However, it wasn’t until her sophomore year of high school when she sustained an injury during powerlifting practice that her interest in sports medicine was truly sparked. Taylor has been a competitive powerlifter since 2011, which has opened up a world of opportunity, including traveling around the world to compete. She takes pride in both her studies and in her athletic achievements and enjoys helping friends and family with nutritional and exercise tips.
Brandon McKandes
Brandon McKandesUndergraduate
Brandon has been a Supermentor since 2019. He is currently working at Surfacide, a medical technology company. He has an Exercise Sports Science degree from University of Wisconsin La Crosse. He played football for 4 years while pursuing his degree and coached football for two. He enjoys giving students a perspective on a different side of the medical field and allowing them to have visibility to all career options. Brandon is very active and enjoys golfing, skiing, basketball, working out, and spending time with family and friends.
Arrington Moses
Arrington MosesUndergraduate
Arrington Moses is from Orlando, Florida. and a graduate of Rhodes College in Memphis, TN. He was a neuroscience major while also being involved in athletics, the student allocations committee, and service and cultural organizations of campus. He was also given the opportunity to participate in research involving the study of PTSD in mice at the University of Memphis. Arrington is currently in a gap year and studying for the MCAT. His plan for this year is to become a medical assistant. His career aspiration is to pursue medical school. he currently has interests in dermatology, psychiatry, and neurology, together with extra-curricular interests mainly surround music and working out.
Alexis Puyleart
Alexis PuyleartMedical Student
Alexis graduated from St. Norbert College in 2019 with a BS in physics. After taking a gap year, she began medical school at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee. With becoming a physician being a lifelong dream, she feels grateful to be on this journey and mentor others on similar paths. Alexis is currently interested in specializing in neurology, but is keeping an open mind as she moves through medical school and explores other areas and specialties. She is also interested in climate action and how climate change affects human health. When she’s not studying, you can find her doing something outside – most likely hiking.
Emily Ulmer
Emily UlmerUndergraduate
Emily graduated from Rhodes College in 2022 as a premed student with a BA in English and a minor in chemistry. She spent all four years on the Rhodes College swim team along with being part of the Chi Omega Sorority. As a swimmer since 9 years old, she realized the significance of good physical health. Staying active has had a huge impact on Emily’s mental, physical, and emotional health, and it is something she likes to advocate in her journey of becoming a part of the medical field. She hopes to contribute to the health of others and attend medical school to eventually explore her interests in neuroscience and pediatrics – and maybe even combine the two!
Morgan Vavra
Morgan VavraDietetics Major
Morgan is currently a junior working towards getting a five-year degree in dietetics at the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. She was unsure of her path for a future career until her second semester. However, she has always had a passion for learning about nutrition and studying foods. Morgan spent her first semester in college studying art at the University of Wisconsin – Superior, and she wondered if there was a reason to continue her education. One day, she realized how much of her free time was spent researching the truth behind healthy diets and listening to other dietician’s podcasts. That’s when she knew becoming a dietician was what she was meant to do. Morgan wants to ensure she can help other people struggling to find a career path so that they do not make the same mistakes as she did. This is clearly just the beginning of Morgan’s journey, but she is truly excited for the future of her education as well as her role of Super Mentor for CV Academics.