Lolita Wood-Hill

Congratulations to Lolita Wood-Hill, executive director of pre-professional advisement at Yeshiva College, on being the recipient of the prestigious 2020 Northeast Association of Advisors for Health Professions (NEAAHP) Outstanding Service Award. According to its website, the NEAHHP seeks to advance undergraduate advising for the health professions and serve as a resource for advisors who guide students preparing for a career in the health professions. The Outstanding Service Award, determined by a vote of the general body of the NEAAHP, is given to those who have made substantial contributions to the organization and its membership. Wood-Hill has been in premed advising for almost 30 years and is well-known for her devotion to her students. She started her career at the City University of New York and then joined YU’s advisement team, where she has been for close to 10 years. “Lolita is one of the best pre-health advisors in the country,” said Dr. Fred Sugarman, associate dean for operations and student affairs at Yeshiva College. “She’s proven this over her 30-year career and by guiding countless students into top-tier medical and dental programs.” She wears many hats in her role of helping students interested in the health professions. Among her many responsibilities is providing academic support, helping students craft résumés and personal statements and assisting them with their applications. She also provides students with guidance regarding enrichment activities such as community service and research, organizes on-campus meetings with admissions officers at professional schools and works closely with YC’s administration on issues that affect undergraduates pursuing the sciences. On a daily basis, Wood-Hill can be found speaking to administrators at many of the medical and dental schools in New York and New Jersey, and she recently helped facilitate an early assurance program with SUNY Upstate Medical University and Rutgers School of Dental Medicine. Wood-Hill is also the campus coordinator for YU’s new BA/MS program in biotechnology.  For the past two years Wood-Hill has added pre-law advising to her responsibilities, coordinating the Langfan Competition and the Judicial Internship Program. Yet her dedication to helping students reach their professional goals doesn’t stop at YU.  She’s been a consultant to several non-profit organizations, including Mentoring in Medicine, which is dedicated to making health profession careers more accessible to disadvantaged students. In addition, as coordinator of the NYC LAN, a local annual meeting for pre-health advisors in the NY/NJ region, she has run many workshops on programming ideas to teach interviewing techniques, how to help students fill out their applications, write their personal statements and organizing successful orientations for incoming students, among many other topics. She also co-wrote a chapter in the recently published book, Development and Impact of Training Programs and Systems in Medical Education, about helping disadvantaged students navigate the medical school admissions process. In addition, she has earned recognition from other organizations in her field including the Association of American Medical Colleges, Associated Medical Schools of New York and the National Association of Medical Minority Educators. Wood-Hill brings a passion and generosity to her work and a devotion to helping young people that is widely recognized by her peers, coworkers and students. “She is one of YU’s gems,” said Dr. Sugarman.