Earlier this spring I mentioned a capstone project dreamed up by Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine student Fiamma van Biema, designed (in her words) to show the next generation that "life is an adventure, a process, a journey—and that one has to be ever ready to pivot and to recognize and embrace opportunity when it knocks."

Taking her words to heart, Être happily teamed up with Fiamma to run Becoming, a spring program that brought students from middle school through medical school face to face with five extraordinary leaders.

Because my absolute favorite thing is to spotlight new ideas and connect rising voices with real-time mentors, below please read Être's recent interview with Fiamma where she walks us through her original vision and points out lessons learned through the Becoming capstone project.

Ê: I'm so excited to chat with you again as Becoming has unfolded over the spring! What continued to inspire you about this amazing project?

FVB: The stories that keep inspiring me start with the same question: what happens when you walk away from the life you thought you were meant to live? We've heard from:

Lucie Fink, the Hopkins pre-med turned CEO who turned her curiosity about people into a career,
Cameron Oaks Rodgers who left the JP Morgan trading floor to build a creative life,
Stephanie Nass, who escaped spreadsheet monotony by hosting dinners in her tiny NYC apartment, turning her hobby into a catering company, a lifestyle brand and book,
Dr. Renee Paro, a pediatric cardiologist who reframes the whole conversation - not what should my career look like? but what do I want my life to actually look like? and
Jolie Steele, who realized she'd been living her life based on a checklist someone else had written and that finding herself required a season of desperation that cracked open a joy, truth, and harmony she didn't know existed.

Perhaps most inspiring, however, is the generosity of these women and their desire to see others around them flourish. Through podcasts, newsletters, coaching, social platforms, and a kind of radical transparency that is rare, they're constantly coming up with new ways to help the younger generation grow.

Ê: These conversations have been simultaneously impressive and inspiring to witness. Were there any questions asked or answers given that moved you the most?

FVB: Taken together, what these five women affirmed was that success is where authenticity meets opportunity, self-reflection produces courage, failure protects, risk returns and mentorship multiplies. Moments I particularly loved include:

Jolie, noting that "if something feels like it is slowly destroying you… It is not something to control, conquer and medicate. It is something to pursue, unravel and understand.”

Reneé, on choosing her part-time role over a full time offer from Stanford Medical School “because I had chosen myself so many times… I knew not to care what others thought [about my decisions].”

Cameron, stating that “if you are afraid of rejection you don’t put yourself out there and because I have lost that fear; I throw my hat into rings I am not qualified for.”

Stephanie, advising the next gen to “[j]ust start. My only regret is that I did not start earlier. I got so rejected in my twenties. I don’t even feel the failures anymore. They made me feel uninhibited to just ask and go for it because… what if it works?”

And finally, Lucie commenting on someone in a big organization taking a chance on her early in her career and opening a door; her biggest career leaps came from the generosity of connection.

Ê: We could not love this more - especially the way you opened these conversations to students of all ages! As you look forward to the end of your medical school career, what do you hope future viewers take away from these mentor moments?

FVB: Part of the reason I wanted to create this platform was that mentors in my life have often had established ‘traditional’ professions (lawyers, financiers, entrepreneurs, physicians).

"I wanted to introduce young women to mentors who have had non-traditional career paths, who have followed the road less traveled and who are willing to talk openly about the failures and challenges they have experienced along the way." - Fiamma van Biemma

Through conversations with entrepreneurs, pediatric cardiologists, podcasters, caterers turned writers, and CEOs, I hope young women recognize the significance of staying true to themselves and realize how transformative authenticity and vulnerability can really be. And, as Jolie says, change in others is often the domino effect of putting yourself out there and sharing your own missteps.

A domino effect indeed.

With applause and end of year congrats to Fiamma for dreaming up and executing this capstone project and with endless gratitude for the five mentors who gave time and energy throughout the semester, these are the conversations that change minds.

That change directions.

That change college majors, internships chosen, career paths taken and how conventional advice is received.

These are the conversations that many wish they had earlier...and thankfully they are taking place right now.

As we watch semesters wind down and cheer at graduations, let us recall the pieces of advice that mattered most to us over the years and remember to pass them forward to the next gen. How to get started? Take a page from future physician and current change-maker Fiamma van Biemma...her capstone project is the all the inspo you need.

Looking forward,

Illana