May 8, 2025 will mark the 36th annual Junior Jumpstart, a conference that brings more than 50 speakers from the St. Louis area each year to share advice with juniors preparing for life after college. A culminating and uniquely tailored experience, Junior Jumpstart initiates the final stages of the academic journey as students rise into their final year at WashU.
The day after final exams conclude, juniors engage with recent alumni, field experts, and leaders to learn what steps to take next in their academic and professional journeys. Some of the myriad of takeaways attendees can find at the conference include:
- Network with young alumni who have broken into competitive fields
- Identify & gauge multiple post-graduation paths, including gap years and exploratory experiences
- Draft personal statements, professional dossier materials, & other career-related writing with feedback from professional writers
- Find fit for scholarships & fellowships for gap years, grad & professional school, international travel, research, & more
- Recognize the requirements and phases of graduate and professional school applications
- Begin your applications to med school and practice interview questions with personalized guidance
- Get insider tips in multiple fields from industry recruiters, admissions experts, & entry- to executive-level professionals
- Create a realistic personal budget and future financial goals
- Get fantastic swag & giveaways
- And much more!
Due to this variety, the conference is perfect for students who know exactly what they want to do after graduation and for those who are undecided.
Organizing this conference is no small feat. A planning committee — consisting of deans, directors, and advisors from across campus — collaborates year-round to plan the event, coordinate logistics, and market Junior Jumpstart. The student perspective is indispensable to ensure a fresh and relevant program with a keynote and other speakers whose experience relates directly to people on all trajectories. For the Class of 2026, Junior Jumpstart enthusiastically welcomes Saumith Menon to serve on the Planning Committee and be the official Junior Jumpstart Ambassador! Saumith entered in Fall 2022 but will graduate a year early this May.
Saumith Menon is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis, majoring in biology with minors in psychological and brain sciences and in anthropology. He is originally from Lexington, Massachusetts, where Paul Revere rode through and screamed “the British are coming” back in 1775. Saumith is actively engaged in his campus community as a resident advisor and through his roles in Ashoka, Camp Kesem, and Campus Y. Off campus, he has gained significant research experience in the Washington University School of Medicine’s Anesthesiology Department. In the Akk Lab, he investigates ligand-gated ion channels. He also serves as a clinical research assistant in pediatric anesthesia at St. Louis Children’s Hospital, studying strategies to reduce post-surgical complications in children. Saumith is pre-med, set to graduate early in Spring 2025, and is planning to take a gap year while he applies to medical school. Junior Jumpstart was a great experience for him, as it helped him refine his career goals, offering valuable insights and resources for the next steps in his journey. Outside of his commitments, Saumith enjoys rooting for the Green Bay Packers and listening to Ken Carson in his headphones at full volume.
Find out more about Junior Jumpstart and follow @juniorjumpstartwustl for junior year updates & opportunities. Register for the 2025 conference today!
