About us

Mentorship that meets students where they are.

MedRise Mentors is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to empowering high school and college students as they navigate the competitive path into healthcare. We deliver engaging presentations, offer individualized mentorship, and provide clear, actionable guidance — helping students build the skills and applications they need to stand out.

Our mission

Remove barriers. Expand access. Make sure no one feels alone.

Becoming a physician demands an extraordinary level of commitment in one of the most competitive fields there is. Without family in medicine or established connections, many students are left stitching together fragmented advice — often encountering conflicting information and unnecessary barriers along the way.

That's why MedRise Mentors exists. We've built a community of dedicated medical students and gap-year premeds who share one goal: to give the next generation the mentorship, resources, and guidance we wish we'd had — and to make the journey more collaborative, more accessible, and more equitable.

MedRise Mentors (EIN 41-2831910) is a Tennessee-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that connects premed students with medical student mentors, providing free resources and guidance to first-generation and underserved students.

Financial barriers should never stand in the way of guidance.

60
Medical-student mentors
3
Active chapters
25
States reached
$0
Cost to students

Our story

The road so far.

Grassroots

Years of premed presentations

Long before there was an organization, our founder was driving to high schools and universities across Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee — teaching students how to become competitive applicants, and mentoring them for free.

2025

MedRise Mentors is founded

What began as one student's mission became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, built on the belief that no one should navigate the path to medicine alone.

Today

A national network

60 medical-student mentors, active chapters at Rhodes College, UT Knoxville, and the University of Memphis, and students reached across 25 states and 2 countries — all at no cost.

Next

Research & growth

Our presentation outcomes are being formalized into a pilot study for peer-reviewed publication, as we expand chapters and reach more students.

Executive Team

Devin Bocook

Devin Bocook

Founder & President
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: University of Kentucky
Hometown
La Crosse, WI
Background
First‑generation

A third-year, first-generation medical student from La Crosse, Wisconsin. Mentorship is the thread that runs through everything he does. Long before MedRise Mentors had a name, he spent four and a half years driving to high schools and universities across Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee. He taught students how to become competitive applicants and mentored premeds one-on-one, for free.

Every presentation showed him the same thing. Talented students are everywhere, but good guidance is not. That need led him to found MedRise Mentors in 2025 on a simple belief: no student should navigate the path to medicine alone. He is grateful to build it with a team of medical students who share that belief. His favorite part is still sitting down with students and helping them find their way forward.

Sehrab Bagha

Sehrab Bagha

Cofounder & Vice President
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: University of Memphis
Hometown
Memphis, TN
Background
First‑generation

Born in Calgary and rooted in Memphis since middle school. As a first-generation student, he found the road to medicine overwhelming without clear guidance. He helped found MedRise Mentors so that mentorship is accessible to everyone and financial barriers never stand in the way.

Bennett Arza

Bennett Arza

Cofounder & Vice President
Med school: University of Pikeville–KYCOM · Undergrad: University of Kentucky
Hometown
Northern Illinois
Background
First‑generation

Raised in Northern Illinois, he navigated the premed process by trial and error without connections in medicine. The mentors who changed his trajectory inspired him to help found MedRise Mentors and pay that guidance forward to the next generation of physicians.

Samuel Benson

Samuel Benson

Secretary
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: University of Tennessee
Hometown
Knoxville, TN
Background
First‑generation

A first-generation medical student from Knoxville who believes everyone needs someone walking ahead of them, beside them, and behind them. MedRise Mentors exists to be that guide, replacing fragmented forum advice with real, longitudinal support.

Carlie Arlinghaus

Carlie Arlinghaus

Chair of Data Analysis
Med school: UK College of Medicine · Undergrad: University of Kentucky
Hometown
Northern Kentucky
Background
First‑generation

A first-generation college student from Northern Kentucky who graduated Summa Cum Laude. Having felt firsthand how vital mentors are on the medical-school journey, she helps students navigate the path with that same guidance and support.

Ardelan Oray

Ardelan Oray

Social Media Director
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Vanderbilt University
Hometown
Nashville, TN
Background
First‑generation

A first-generation college and medical student from Nashville who leaned on mentors through every application. He brings a photography and videography background to MedRise Mentors, expanding the organization's reach to premed students nationwide.

Adam LaLance

Adam LaLance

Treasurer
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: University of Alabama
Hometown
Murfreesboro, TN
Background
No ties to medicine

A third-year medical student from Murfreesboro, TN, who came to medicine from a non-medical background. He knows how easy it is to feel overwhelmed by the path ahead and the conflicting advice that surrounds it. He joined MedRise Mentors because the right mentorship can be a game-changer in cutting through that noise.

Jake Morris

Jake Morris

Community Outreach Director
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Dartmouth College
Hometown
Charlotte, NC

He is building out MedRise Mentors' hands-on clinical exposure. He has established a shadowing database of Memphis physicians, Memphis Fire Department ride-alongs, and an ER doctor–student shadowing program.

Outreach Mentor Coordinators

Mentors who lead the way, building chapters and bringing guidance to their own campuses.

Rahul Sharma

Rahul Sharma

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Rhodes College
Hometown
Memphis, TN
Coordinating
Rhodes College
Dominic Allocco

Dominic Allocco

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Tulane University
Hometown
Nashville, TN
Coordinating
Tulane University
Jacob Purkey

Jacob Purkey

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Mississippi State University
Hometown
Collierville, TN
Coordinating
Mississippi State University
Hayeon Ryou

Hayeon Ryou

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Sewanee: The University of the South
Hometown
Hendersonville, TN
Coordinating
Sewanee: The University of the South
Seth Meadows

Seth Meadows

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Western Kentucky University
Hometown
Goodlettsville, TN
Coordinating
University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University & Bellarmine University
Reyan Naik

Reyan Naik

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Wake Forest University
Hometown
Chattanooga, TN
Coordinating
Wake Forest University
Bryce Wittman

Bryce Wittman

Outreach Mentor Coordinator
Med school: UT Health Science Center · Undergrad: Ohio Wesleyan University
Hometown
Memphis, TN
Coordinating
Ohio Wesleyan University

Social Media Brand Ambassadors

The voices carrying MedRise Mentors to students online, so guidance reaches whoever needs it, wherever they are.

Dervens Michaud

Dervens Michaud

Social Media Brand Ambassador
Med school: St. George's University · Undergrad: Florida State University
Hometown
Florida
Background
First‑generation

A first-generation medical student who has navigated much of this journey without a family blueprint or firsthand guidance. His path through undergrad wasn't a straight line. It came with plenty of ups and downs, and those experiences forced him to grow.

That nontraditional path is exactly what he brings to mentorship: he knows what it feels like to not have everything figured out, or to feel like you're falling behind. Not everyone has the 4.0, the perfect MCAT, and the straight-to-medical-school story, and he wants students to know their path doesn't have to look like anyone else's to be successful.

Want to help students rise?

Join as a mentor, apply for mentorship, or bring MedRise Mentors to your school.