Junior Shayla Minteer, a double major in general business and medical lab science, plans to enter Brown University’s Warren Alpert School of Medicine in 2015. Wishful thinking? Not at all. She’s already been accepted into Brown’s highly competitive medical school through a special program offering early contingent admission to a sophomore from Rhode Island.

The Brown early acceptance is but one of the honors Shayla’s earned since she entered URI in 2010, when she began taking evening classes so she could work during the day. When she won the Frank Navarro Scholarship from the College of Business, she was able to quit her day job and focus entirely on her studies.

“The Navarro Scholarship changed my life,” she says. “At URI, there are so many doors around me and I have this key and can open any door I want.’’

Thanks to a Michael P. Metcalf Fellow award, she volunteered over the summer in Peru helping a gynecology clinic streamline its business practices. And before that, she spent three months conducting HIV-related research at the Bloomberg School of Public Health at Johns Hopkins University—a trip partially funded by the URI Honors Program, of which she is a participant.

Kathleen Maher, Honors Program assistant director, commends Shayla for her work at URI. “Shayla has taken full advantage of the wide range of opportunities for learning, research, service, and leadership available at URI,’’ Maher says. “From here, she has entered the world stage.’’

Shayla, who wants to be a primary care physician, is especially proud of her early medical school admission to Brown. The school seeks applicants with intellectual curiosity, clinical or research experience, a commitment to helping others, integrity and enthusiasm. “It’s a good fit for me, and I’m a good fit for Brown,’’ she says.