The Undergraduate Student Government approved two new student clubs, the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students and the Medical Entrepreneurship Club, during its meeting Oct. 15.
MAPS, advised by professor Sarah Heimovics, connects pre-health students with healthcare professionals, provides study resources, hosts guest speakers and organizes community service projects.
“Our mission is to join forces with the current pre-health program,” said Nadia Khumbah, a senior neuroscience student and MAPS executive board member. “As minorities ourselves — who face these challenges — we know how to best support these students.”
MAPS is a national organization affiliated with the Student National Medical Association, which has chapters at universities across the country. The newly-approved club hopes to join the national network.
“First, we have to establish an existing club on the campus before we move onto making it a national connection,” Khumbah said.
MAPS will have its kickoff event Nov. 5 at 5:30 p.m. The location has not been announced yet.
The Medical Entrepreneurship Club, advised by professor Amy Verhoeven, will bring medical science and business students together.
“What we want to do is have an emphasis on both the inventors within the medical side. That would be for undergraduate people, like the chemistry or the biology, and we want to combine that with the business side,” said Ajay Amundson, a junior pre-medical student and MEC executive board member.
Junior pre-medical student and MEC executive board member Ethan Knipe said that the club plans to invite industry professionals to share their experiences developing medical products and building business plans.
“We want to get them talking about … what it means to come up with a medical device, what it means to build that business plan, and how we can really bring those two areas together,” Knipe said. “This also provides us opportunities to work with other clubs as well such as the entrepreneurship club or biomedical engineering club.”
Members will also have opportunities to practice pitching ideas, develop medical product concepts and collaborate with other students from medical and business fields.
MEC is planned to begin next month with an introductory session.
Victor Mshihiri can be reached at mshi7898@stthomas.edu.
