Anita Mesi, who holds a B.A. in Economics from Hunter College and an M.B.A. in Finance and Investments and Organizational Behavior-HR Management from Baruch College, began her career at Weill Cornell Medicine 16 years ago as a student intern in the Department of Biochemistry. Anita has since served in several managerial roles at WCM and is currently the Division Administrator of the Weill Department of Medicine’s newly established Division of General Internal Medicine.
As a result of the positive internship opportunity Anita received at WCM, she became inspired to launch an internship program for the Division of General Internal Medicine. In fact, throughout her employment at Weill Cornell, Anita had always envisioned that one day she “would be able to create opportunities, similar to what she had experienced, for students seeking a career in a medical environment.”
The General Internal Medicine Internship Program that Anita has launched has been designed to provide interns with exposure to a top academic medical center where patient care, education, and research is the ongoing focus. “I hope that this internship program provides interns with an opportunity to self-identify alignment with the academic mission, hence helping them build their own career plans early on. Additionally, I hope it provides students of different backgrounds with equal opportunities to intern at an Ivy League medical school,” says Anita.
Anita credits the division’s chiefs and a large number of faculty and staff who have lent support to the intern initiative. “I am tremendously thankful to our leadership and faculty, and the students for bringing along their curiosity and enthusiasm. During the first year of offering the General Internal Medicine Internship, we received a total of 92 applications within a two week application period and without any marketing initiatives. We accepted 20 student interns (22% acceptance rate), making our program very competitive this first time around. We accepted students from Weill Cornell Medicine, Cornell University, Fordham University, Binghamton University, Hunter College, Horace Mann School and more. As a division we have also been supportive of other internal programs within Weill Cornell Medicine, such as the Weill-Ithaca Summer Experience in Research (WISER), Travelers Summer Research Fellowship Program and the Urban Semester Summer Program in New York City.”
Anita, who greatly enjoys working at Weill Cornell Medicine, emphasizes: “The most important thing that has always excited me about coming to work at Weill Cornell Medicine is that you are surrounded by intelligent individuals who are receptive to new ideas and are continuously looking for ways to improve. It is hard and challenging work sometimes, but it is also very exhilarating and rewarding. I strive to add value to the learning and development of my team as we work on moving the division’s initiatives forward.”
When asked what are the main skills and qualities that the Division of General Internal Medicine seeks in an intern, Anita explains: “We are looking for humility, conscientiousness, drive, and determination. To me, this set of qualities would ensure that one achieves anything they put their mind into.”