Ethel Walker School
On Friday, May 18, three Walker’s alumnae returned to campus to talk with students about their careers in STEM fields during a “Women in Science” panel hosted by Walker’s Science Department.
At about three years old, Tori declared that she wanted to be a dentist when she grew up and she never wavered. Around the age of five, Tori told her parents she would be going to Tufts Dental School. She even wrote her Ethel Walker admission essay about her future career. Upon graduating from Walker’s, Tori attended Marist College where she graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in biomedical sciences and minors in business and psychology. She participated in Marist’s early action 4+4 program with Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, which allowed her to apply and be accepted to TUSDM’s class of 2012 during the summer between her sophomore and junior years at Marist. Upon completion of her DMD degree, Dr. Saferin returned to Connecticut for a one-year General Practice Residency at Hartford Hospital. After working for a few years as an associate in Cromwell and Avon, CT, Dr. Saferin bought a practice in West Hartford in June of 2017. She is thrilled with her career choice and loving being a business owner and all the highs and lows that go along with it.
After earning her Bachelor of Science degree from Gettysburg College in biochemistry & molecular biology, Caitlin worked for two years as a research associate at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, where she studied the bacterium that causes tuberculosis. She fell in love with microbiology and infectious disease research and is currently starting her third year pursuing a Ph.D. in microbiology at Yale University, studying the interactions between bacterial pathogens and their hosts.
Michelle graduated from Walker’s in 2011 and went to the University of Vermont for both her undergraduate and graduate program. She completed her undergrad in three years with a B.A. in psychology. She then graduated in 2017 with her doctorate in physical therapy. During her last year of graduate school, Michelle also completed a fellowship with the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) program. LEND is an interdisciplinary program dedicated to promoting advocacy and improving the health care system for children with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families. After graduation, Michelle started working at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in outpatient physical therapy and will complete her first year there in July.
