Anne Rase Atalig

Author’s Note: Saipan Tribune will be featuring leading women in higher education every week in its newest 10-part series, Women In The Know. Last week, Rota lass Bernadita Manglona was featured for her recent acceptance to the University of California, San Francisco School of Dentistry. Anne Rase Atalig is this week’s Woman In The Know.

Twenty-five-year-old Anne Rase Atalig. (Contributed photo)

Twenty-five-year-old Anne Rase Atalig will be graduating from Dartmouth College this week with a Doctor of Medicine degree while simultaneously being promoted to captain in the U.S. Army from her current rank of 2nd lieutenant.

Atalig, who considers Rota her home after living there for eight years, skipped the seventh grade at Guam’s Bishop Baumgartner Memorial School and graduated valedictorian of the Academy of Our Lady of Guam class of 2006.

As a dedicated student athlete, member of the French Interest Group, and a Junior Achievement program member who traveled abroad for four years, Atalig explained that her extracurricular involvement set her in the direction of pursuing the field of medicine.

“I did not always know that I wanted to be a doctor. I was thinking business school or medical school, because I enjoyed Junior Achievement so much,” Atalig, who is also a recipient of the Gates Millennium Scholarship and Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, told Saipan Tribune.

Her fervor and diligence in her studies was also bolstered by a sobering fact. Atalig said a strong family history of cardiovascular disease—something common in Chamorro families—was the driving force in her decision to pursue a career in medicine.

“I think a huge fraction of people can prevent acute myocardial infarctions, heart attacks, if they can tweak their diet and increase their daily exercise. People do not think about their heart health when they are young and healthy, but plaque development in a person’s vasculature starts in early adulthood and in some cases even in adolescence,” she explained.

Atalig credits her success to Rota’s close-knit community and her parents, Francisco Manglona Atalig and Ofelia Rase Atalig.

“Growing up [on] Rota, I learned early on that you really don’t need a lot in order to be happy. The more simply you live, the more full life becomes.”

Receiving a quality education
Atalig graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Biochemistry at Dartmouth College, with an emphasis in French Language and Studio Arts. While in college, she participated in two years of cardiovascular research with a mentor at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center. During her time there, Atalig became heavily involved in a Southeast Asian student dance group and the Vietnamese Student Association, a cultural interest group.

“There were no other natives from the CNMI or Guam, so spending time with these Asian organizations at school made me feel more at home,” she said.

After earning her undergraduate degree, Atalig took a year off and worked as an intern for the National Parkinson Foundation, a non-profit organization, in Miami, Florida.

It was during her internship that Atalig applied to 20 medical schools and was invited to a number of them for an interview.

“I chose to return to Dartmouth because I came to love the community and felt most comfortable with the environment to focus my energy into my medical education,” she said. “The competition was ridiculously tough; the acceptance rate into Dartmouth’s medical school is about 2 percent.”

After practicing in the mainland as an Army physician, Atalig plans to become a Family Medicine physician and return to the islands to provide primary care services.

Atalig is also a member of the U.S. Army’s Health Profession Scholarship Program, where she receives academic financial aid while providing medical care to soldiers.

“It’s a huge honor, especially because there are so many service members from our beautiful islands,” she said.

Atalig encourages the island youth to pursue their passion and reminds them that “nothing is impossible once you set your mind to do it.”