Making an impact on students’ experience and success
Daniya Sheikh’s confidence was waning, and imposter syndrome was starting to creep up on her.
A 2025 graduate of UNT Health’s online MedSci program, Sheikh was facing the daunting pressure of medical school interviews.
“Not because I didn't know what to say,” Sheikh said. “But I wanted to tell my story in a way that stood out and that resonated with my interviewers.”
She decided to reach out to the Career Readiness Center, one of the eight departments that makes up the Division of Student Affairs.
She felt nervous as her first appointment approached. But once she connected with Senior Coordinator Stephanie Green, a career services specialist, Sheikh felt immediately at ease.
Green taught her valuable interview skills and used mock interviews to help Sheikh boost her presentation of her unique story.
“The CRC really just helped me gain the confidence and helped lower the imposter syndrome that I was starting to get,” Sheikh said.
“Every time I got an interview… I was able to easily and readily reach out to the Career Readiness Center and set up an appointment, practice and utilize the resource and be able to get into a medical school.”
CRC provided more than 450 career readiness appointments with students last year and recently made top-notch career readiness training available 24/7 to students through an on-demand course in Canvas. In less than a month, there were already 1,800 students enrolled.
That’s just one way the Division of Student Affairs is making an impact on student success at UNT Health. (See the recently published 2024-25 DSA Impact Report for more.*)
Leadership and collaboration
Another example is New Student Orientation, which not only provides a warm welcome to incoming students, but also creates growth opportunities for current students who choose to get involved as orientation leaders.
Alec Cooper, TCOM Class of 2027, said that being a part of orientation has always been “a moment of joy.”
Furthermore, he recognized how serving as an orientation leader has benefited his professional readiness by developing leadership and collaborative skills.
“You have to learn how to work with others, to work on a team, to lead others, and also create a welcoming environment,” said Cooper. “These are things you have to do as a physician too.”
The Center for Student Life, another of DSA’s departments, held orientation for 1,021 in-person and online students last year.
Growth and fun
UNT Health is full of outside-of-the-classroom opportunities for students to develop important skills, learn about potential career paths and specialties, and to connect with other students who have shared interests.
In addition to events like orientation, CSL empowers over 100 Registered Student Organizations to hold fun and engaging events that create a vibrant campus community and provide transformational experiences for students.
During the 2024-25 academic year, 2,066 students were involved in a student org.
Anthony Kocher, TCOM Class of 2027, said that student orgs were “a way that I could learn some new things about medicine that I feel I could apply into my practice when I become a doctor.”
He also noted that being involved in student orgs can be a reprieve from your studies and a great reminder that “life isn’t just school.”
“There’s other interests, other things about me than just wanting to be a doctor,” he said.
Some student organizations are based on hobbies, interests and the arts while others focus on specific career specializations within healthcare.
“When you see somebody flourishing in a student organization and finding out what they want to do with their life, there’s something really magical about that,” said Cooper.
Academic support
Yet another way DSA is making an impact on student success is the academic counseling, writing support and tutoring offered through the Center for Academic Performance.
“At first I was very overwhelmed,” said Sheikh. “It felt like an overload of information.”
She described the gap between the largely passive studying that typifies the undergraduate experience and what a rigorous program like the Master of Science in Medical Science required.
That was a gap that CAP helped her bridge, working with her on study strategies and techniques.
“The Center for Academic Performance helped me realize that it's not just memorizing and dumping information,” she said. “There’s a lot of active recall.”
She learned about the Pomodoro Technique, a time-management method that breaks up study sessions into more manageable chunks of time.
“Having those resources at hand really helped make me feel less overwhelmed and find ways to be a better student,” she said.
CAP provided 1,007 academic counseling sessions last year to go along with 123 writing submissions reviewed and 2,500 tutoring sessions.
Basic needs
However, one concern every educational institution faces is that if students don’t have their basic needs met outside of the classroom, they won’t be able to learn well inside the classroom.
That’s where DSA’s Student Assistance Resource Center comes in.
SARC features a number of resources that are making an impact by supporting students’ basic needs. For example:
- The Student Food Pantry addresses food insecurity, providing over 3,000 pounds of food to students last year.
- The Clothes Closet provides professional attire for students to have for interviews, presentations, conferences and other events.
- The Fitness Center gives students a gym to exercise in at no additional cost.
- TimelyCare, for which 27.4% of UNT Health students registered last year, offers free counseling and other mental health services and content. UNT Health students gave the service a 4.95/5 rating per visit.
- And the Student Emergency Fund, which awarded $47,148 last year, supports students facing hardship.
And more…
Some other points of impact include:
- The Office of Care and Civility had 4,034 attendees at their wellness, prevention, self-care and emotional intelligence programming events and handled 198 Care Team cases in collaboration with SARC.
- With 186 students registered for accommodations, the Office of Disability Access administered 589 exams that met specific student needs.
- The International Services Office provided immigration support to 90 international students and 25 faculty and staff representing 34 different countries.
- Testing and Evaluation Services administered a total of 1,876 student assessments and 457 course evaluations.
Reflection on the journey
Having now been accepted into medical school, Sheikh reflects on the UNT Health student services that have supported her success:
“If I hadn't used the resources during my time as a student in the MedSci program or preparing for medical school interviews, I wouldn't be where I am today,” Sheikh said.
“The biggest thing I would tell students no matter what program their in, is to utilize the resources that are available,” Sheikh said.
“They’re there for a reason.”
They’re here to enrich your experience and support your success at UNT Health and beyond!
* You can learn more about the impact Student Affairs is making with the 2024-25 DSA Impact Report, a multimedia experience.
Some highlights from the last academic year:
- 2,066 students in orgs
- 1,021 students oriented
- 1,800 students enrolled in brand new Career Readiness on Demand course in Canvas
- 450+ career counseling appointments
- 1,007 academic counseling appointments
- 2,500 tutoring sessions
- 123 writing submissions reviewed
- Services provided for 90 international students representing 34 countries
- 4,034 total attendees across all Office of Care and Civility events
- 198 care team cases
- 186 students registered for disability accommodations
- 589 exams administered to accommodate needs
- 3,000+ pounds of food from food pantry provided to students facing food insecurity
- $47,148 in Student Emergency Funds awarded to students facing hardship
- 27.4% of students registered for TimelyCare giving an average 4.95/5 rating per visit.
- 1,876 student assessments administered
- 457 course evaluations conducted to gather valuable student feedback
- 96% of students felt confident to take an exam on Examplify after orientation