Savannah Pollock’s journey from Wesleyan College to medical school is a testament to resilience, purpose and the transformative power of a close-knit community. With a deep desire to make a difference, she embodies the potential that Wesleyan fosters in its students.
Reflecting on her time at Wesleyan, Pollock speaks with deep fondness for the connections and support she experienced there. She often recalls the unique sense of freedom she felt on campus- a place where women and gender minorities are empowered to thrive in ways that are rare elsewhere.
“I miss college so much,” Pollock said. “It’s the friends and the community you make there, especially at Wesleyan. You don’t get something like that everywhere. There’s a freedom that exists on the campus, especially for women or gender minorities, that you don’t find anywhere else.”
That environment gave her the space to discover her passions and grow as a leader. As a student-athlete and a member of the Wolves softball team, she learned the importance of making others feel valued and appreciated. She believes that leadership isn’t just about overseeing tasks but about empowering others to use their unique gifts.
“As a student-athlete, I really just learned to navigate people, learned how to make people feel valued and accepted in a group, which is not an easy thing to do as a leader,” Pollock said. “To actually give people the chance to feel like they’re using their own gifts and feeling valuable- that’s something I learned a lot about in softball.”
The standout Wesleyan graduate’s academic accomplishments further highlight her determination and talent. In her senior year, she earned several prestigious awards, including the Mary Mildred Sullivan Award, the Division of Science and Mathematics Senior Award, the Wolf Award for Outstanding Campus Involvement and the Religion, Philosophy, and Social Change Senior Award. These honors recognize not only her academic excellence but also her commitment to making a meaningful impact on her campus and beyond.
Her mentor, Dr. Waldo Floyd of OrthoGeorgia and a member of the Wesleyan College Board of Trustees, describes her as a standout student who exemplified what it takes to be an exceptional medical school candidate.
“(Pollock) is bright, she’s organized, and she had a very strong idea of what it would take for her to be a strong medical school applicant,” Floyd said. “Her research experience was extensive, including work at Wesleyan and prestigious institutions such as the University of Alabama at Birmingham and Wake Forest University.”
Floyd also emphasized her well-rounded nature, noting her involvement in student government, her contributions to the Bylaws Committee, her role as a campus ambassador, and her achievements in athletics.
“She’s a very well-rounded person—very pleasant, very positive, excellent people skills," Floyd said. "She’s also from rural Georgia, which makes her an asset to the community from which she came and an asset to Wesleyan."
Pollock credits much of her growth to the unique opportunities Wesleyan provides. She often reflects on how the alumnae network and the sense of connection she found at Wesleyan played a pivotal role in her development.
“You can hustle all you want. Hustle is amazing. But you can’t out-hustle faith, and you can’t out-hustle connection,” she said. “What Wesleyan can offer you that a lot of schools can’t is the alumnae. The scholarship opportunities. You get to sit in rooms with folks that you don’t appreciate at the time, but once you read their book or find out how impactful they are… That’s something at Wesleyan that you can’t trade.”
While taking great pride in her personal achievements, the Wesleyan alum is deeply committed to representation and ensuring that others who share her background have opportunities to thrive.
“To make sure that people who look like me and sound like me and come from where I’m from are also represented,” Pollock said. “I had a big goal: I wanted to see people united.”
As Pollock embarks on her journey to medical school, Pollock’s story is a powerful reflection of Wesleyan College’s mission to empower students to lead with purpose and make meaningful contributions to the world. With the solid foundation she built at Wesleyan, Savannah is ready to make a difference—not only in her field but in the lives of those she inspires.
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