East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine
Minta grew up in the shadow of the Great Smoky Mountains in the heart of Appalachia and is one of those people who knew she was going to become a healer from a very young age. She discovered her passion for working alongside the local community to address health disparities during her college years in Nashville, TN, graduating in 2018 with a degree in Medicine, Health and Society from Vanderbilt University. Minta’s passion for caring for the underserved led her directly to a career in primary care.
Before starting medical school at East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine, she hiked 2,190.9 miles from Maine to Georgia on the Appalachian Trail as a chaplain and grew into her trail name: Blueberry, after her favorite blue hat and the delicious berries that have the audacity to grow and thrive above the tree line. Minta even managed to squeeze in a 2,800 mile hike from Mexico to Canada on the Continental Divide Trail during her medical school breaks in 2022 and 2023. She looks forward to integrating her deep connection to nature into patient care as well as a less dense grizzly bear population in Boise.
Within the world of medicine, Minta is passionate about health justice and currently serves as a student delegate to the Congress of Delegates with the American Academy of Family Physicians. She has also completed her Masters in Public Health with a focus on epidemiology to better understand the data that informs policy decisions. Her particular advocacy interests include reproductive healthcare, and rural medical access. She is excited to dive into her clinical interests of full spectrum OB/reproductive healthcare, addiction medicine, and wilderness/rural medicine while at FCH. Minta plays just as hard as she works and if she’s not at the hospital, you can find her clearing her head in the mountains and satisfying her desire for “type 2 fun.” The current rotation includes whitewater kayaking, open water swimming, and teaching alpine skiing in Utah’s Wasatch range. She also enjoys studying classical ballet, piano and cooking delicious vegan meals (which will hopefully feature a wide variety of Idaho potatoes).