If you were ever to visit the Yale PA building on the medical campus in New Haven, you would quickly see that one of our favorite and most frequented rooms is the student lounge. If it’s a good day (and it often is), you will find delicious baked concoctions from one of our generous and talented peers, or a supportive message from upperclassmen, wishing us first years well. And just above all this cheer, you will find a few of our proudest mementos: seven framed bowties with a class year proudly printed on the matte. They represent the tradition of Yale PA students successfully bidding and winning bowties in the annual Hunger and Homelessness Auction.
The journey to winning our class of 2017 bowtie begins in an unexpected place: the lecture hall of our anatomy lab. The original owner of all seven ties is Dr. William Stewart, a prominent contributor to our Yale education, and our beloved anatomy professor. His positive demeanor and dynamic brilliance make our donor lab an exciting and unforgettable experience at Yale, and his famous ties a worthy trophy.
Having seen the legacy and neckwear at stake, we went on to meet with the PA class leaders of 2016 and our neighbors down Cedar Street, our friendly medical students. We learned that in its previous year, the Hunger and Homelessness auction raised just over $27,000. This money was allocated to five organizations, chosen in a rigorous selection process by a committee of medical students that thoroughly interviewed many local charities. We began to see that this was an opportunity to be a part of something significant, that would not only foster teamwork within disciplines in the Yale School of Medicine, but could also bring great benefit to our larger New Haven community.
We started with emails: to our families, our loved ones, and our friends. Our Facebook walls became our enthusiastic requests for donations to the cause. And in these moments of reaching out to old friends, emailing an aunt, or calling our parents, we were all able to reconnect to our support networks. The same group of people that in one way or another paved our road to PA school at Yale, were now working together with us to better our community. I can proudly say, on behalf of myself and all my classmates, that we are forever grateful to you. For what you have done to get us here, and for continuing to support our passions for a better future.
And lastly, a fundraiser isn’t complete without a little sugar. We held two bake sales, one in our building and one in the Sterling Memorial Medical library. A more proper term for our bake sale should have been a talent show. The skill and creativity our classmates demonstrated with flour and sugar was impressive! It’s no wonder that in two bake sales we were able to raise almost $800.
So what do you get when you have a motivated and talented class, an inspiring anatomy professor, incredible medical students and upperclassmen, and friends, family and faculty who want nothing but to support your cause? You end with up winning a $3,095 bowtie at auction from the anatomy professor you admire. You hang it proudly with your classmates in your student lounge. You show your gratitude to everyone who helped you along the way. And finally, you eagerly await the day when you can help the next incoming class of PA students beat your record (here’s looking at you, class of 2018).
Thank you again to all of you who contributed to our having an amazing Hunger & Homelessness Auction of 2015!Written by Carla I. Becerra, PA-S1