Rajshri Mainthia credits the success of her Virginia Commonwealth University undergraduate career to the Honors College. She’s received real-world experience working at the VCU Medical Center, co-founded a campus chapter of a national organization and broadened her course of study by attending Oxford University in Great Britain.
“I can’t imagine my last four years not being in the Honors College,” she said.
The Honors College drew the Orange County, Calif., native to VCU. After visiting campus as a high school student, Mainthia knew the university “just fit,” she said.
During the visit she also met her future faculty adviser, Anne Chandler, Ph.D., senior associate dean of the Honors College.
“My parents were initially hesitant about sending me all the way to Virginia,” Mainthia said. “But after meeting Dr. Chandler and learning about the Honors College they knew they felt more comfortable sending me here.”
Chandler made sure Mainthia initially adjusted to college life and provided her guidance in and out of the classroom.
“Aside from helping me plan my classes, she has helped me during stressful times and has encouraged me to do things like study abroad,” Mainthia said. “She’s been more than just my academic adviser.”
While at VCU, Mainthia has taken advantage of many resources available to students. She researches and shadows doctors for numerous hours at the VCU Medical Center with the goal of becoming a surgeon. In the summer of 2007, she went with a pediatric neurosurgeon to Guatemala to analyze the post operative data of hundreds of child patients.
“Since my freshman year, going between campuses has allowed me to form relationships with many medical faculty members,” Mainthia said.
Those relationships have also evolved with classmates of similar interests.
With the help of a friend, Mainthia co-founded a VCU chapter of Physicians for Human Rights — a national organization that mobilizes health professionals to advance health, dignity and justice, and promote the right to health for all. More than 50 chapters exist around the country.
The Honors College helped jump-start the VCU chapter by providing a room for the first meeting, which more than 100 students attended.
Mainthia frequently enjoys taking part in Honors College seminars on different topics outside her core major classes.
“Attending seminars enables us to look beyond our scope of focus,” said Mainthia, who recently represented VCU as a nominee for the Rhodes Scholarship. “When you’re pre-medicine, it’s easy to become centered on science courses and health-related study. I’ve gone to seminars with topics ranging from the Impressionist art movement to the media’s effect on politics.
“More than anything, being part of the Honors College has really given me the opportunity to explore a wide-range of interests,” she added.
