Student representatives from over 80 Yale School of Medicine (YSM) student interest groups gathered in The Anlyan Center, late afternoon on September 5. Each fall semester, the YSM Medical Student Council (MSC) hosts an activities fair for first-year students, to showcase the various student organizations that are part of YSM's community. Second-year MD student and MSC Treasurer Amanda Girod, who helped organize the fair, explains it is “a great way for students who are new, as well as students who have already moved on to clerkships and beyond, to explore the different specialties, volunteer opportunities, global and local health initiatives, social activities, and cultural affinity groups that YSM has to offer.” She also views it as a “great opportunity to foster community among students and start connecting with others who may be interested in similar aspects of medicine and beyond.”
The following short list of groups at the fair provides a snapshot of the diversity of opportunities for student engagement: Internal Medicine Interest Group, Medical Students for a Sustainable Future (MS4SF), Pickleball and Prognoses, Medical Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illnesses, Anatomy Teaching Program, Yale Center for Asylum Medicine, and Music in Medicine.
After the gathering, Girod stated, “I was absolutely overjoyed at the success of this year's event! Over the past year students have started many new interest groups and initiatives, which I think really shows the breadth of how many different things we all are interested in as students. Because of this, we had a record number of groups sign up to participate, which truly contributed to the success of the event.” She continued, “Students were readily able to see the various groups who are all doing unique, engaging, and fulfilling work on campus and beyond. I believe this excitement was palpable in the room during the event, as the atmosphere was filled with flowing conversations.”