Vanessa Mueller

Global Brigades Campus Chariperson 2023-present and Chief Medical Officer 2023-present; Leadership Support Team Member 2022-2023

vlm00004@mix.wvu.edu

Hi! My name is Vanessa Mueller, and I am a senior biochemistry major with minors in Nutrition and Food studies and Medical Humanities and Health Studies from Clarksburg, Maryland.

When I first came to WVU I knew I wanted to pursue medicine, so I applied to WVU Global Medical and Dental Brigades my freshman year. Despite the 2022 brigade to Panama being canceled, since then I’ve brigaded to Panama in 2023 and Honduras in 2024. Brigades’ holistic model creates sustainability by addressing many aspects of a community for improvement: public health, medical, dental, water, law, and business. This makes Global Brigades a unique organization which I’ve valued serving. My experiences have solidified my desire to pursue medical school and have given me a feeling of fulfillment through helping others while getting to know the wonderful people of Panama and Honduras. The memories I’ve made through Brigades will stay with me forever, from working alongside others to dig a 400-meter trench in Panama to give a community fresh water to observing doctors empathize with patients as their history is taken for a diagnosis or singing country roads to communities to say good-bye. These brigades have been some of the best experiences I’ve had in college! I encourage anyone interested to apply!