Faculty of Arts and Sciences

When Helah Snelling '25 was 6 years old, she broke her elbow and, after meeting an orthopedic surgeon, set herself an ambitious goal.

"For the next 10 years, I told everyone I wanted to be an orthopedic surgeon," she says. "I don't think I had any idea what that was, but I always thought, 'That's a cool job. They get to work with people.'"

Snelling, a Hanover native, is now more interested in pediatrics. But she says Dartmouth's rigorous premed curriculum presented challenges. First-year biology was especially tough, she recalls, but she got strategic help from a Teaching Science Fellow—a recent Dartmouth graduate who attended every class and offered academic support to students who needed some guidance or encouragement. "She was such a positive role model and really helped when I felt a little bit in over my head in that course," says Snelling.

Taking a gap year before applying to medical schools, Snelling is paying that debt forward, as one of three TSFs who partner with the faculty of introductory biology and chemistry classes to make them more accessible to all students, regardless of science background. The other two are Colby Lish '25 and Shoaib Jamil '25. 

The trio of fellows help STEM students understand course material and manage their time efficiently. They also encourage the undergraduates to take advantage of recreational and social opportunities beyond the classroom. 

"We all took a different path to medicine with respect to gap years and experiences, so we're able to show students that you don't need a 4.0 average or to go straight through to med school in order to become a doctor," says Snelling. "We advise them to progress at the pace that works for them and enjoy what they do. One of my favorite parts of being a Teaching Science Fellow is just talking with students through both their challenges and their successes, and hearing what they hope to achieve in the future." 

On a recent afternoon, Snelling and three undergraduate Learning Fellows stopped by small tables of students in a Biology 12 class taught by Senior Lecturer Natasha Grotz, explaining key concepts and answering nervous questions. Snelling says she remembers what it was like to feel at sea in a foundational science course. Now, she says, she's learning a lot about herself as she teaches others, gaining confidence in her own grasp of difficult concepts.

"Being asked hundreds of questions makes you see that you do know what you're talking about," she says. "But when I don't know an answer, I'm comfortable saying, 'I'm really not sure,' and that's OK, too. I think it creates an environment for students where it's OK to be confused."

Snelling is the first in her family to pursue a medical degree. Her mother is a librarian and her father works in Dartmouth's Information, Technology and Consulting Department.

"I like being able to model to students that you can come from any background and be able to succeed in this space, and that there are resources you can take advantage of. You don't have to do any of this alone," she says.

As a student researcher, Snelling sets a high bar. Her senior honors thesis examined how certain cells communicate, in a sense, through what are called Wnt signaling pathways.

"When the Wnt pathway is dysregulated, it leads to increased cell proliferation and differentiation, so mutations in the pathway are implicated in many forms of cancers—especially colorectal cancers," says Snelling. "Understanding the pathway's regulation could therefore allow for the identification of new therapeutic targets in cancers with a mutation in Wnt signaling."

The potential for cancer treatment is important to Snelling for personal reasons. Two of her grandparents died from the disease.

"I think most families have had some experience with cancer, and I think it has always felt like something where I could really make a difference, not just in patient care, but on the research side as well," she says.

Those goals are well within Snelling's reach, says Professor of Biological Sciences Lee Witters, who leads the TSF program, which he spearheaded 11 years ago. "Helah is an outstanding biology student. She's doing a spectacular job teaching, and she's just a lovely human being."

Witters came to Dartmouth in 1984 from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital to direct the endocrinology care program at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, and to teach endocrinology and biochemistry and set up a laboratory in what is now the Geisel School of Medicine.

"While there were some very accomplished undergraduate students in my lab and in my classrooms, there were others, from under-resourced educational backgrounds and underrepresented groups, who were aspiring to succeed in medicine or science in general."

With support from the Office of the Provost, the Dean of Faculty Office and, more recently, from Dartmouth NEXT, Witters hires recent Dartmouth graduates "who have experienced the ups and downs of Dartmouth science courses and are familiar with what life is like outside of the classroom." He says the TSF roster will soon expand, thanks to new funding Dartmouth recently received.

"Teaching Science Fellows are a vital resource on campus for undergraduate students in biology and chemistry because they embody the power of near-peer tutoring. By sharing their knowledge and lived experiences these fellows inspire confidence in students to reach their fullest academic potential," says NEXT Executive Director Ansley Booker. "As an undergraduate Learning Fellow and now as a post-baccalaureate scholar, Helah has shown true dedication."

Snelling says she's gaining the communications skills all good doctors need. 

"Being able to explain something to someone who doesn't have a background in what you're talking about is really important," she says. "I know now that teaching needs to play a big role in my future."

That could include, she says, becoming a professor of medicine, in addition to being a practicing physician.