“We wanted to help students going through what we experienced.” This fall, Mt. A students created a Pre-Med Society on campus. I interviewed Tori McCarvell, the co-president of the Pre-Med Society to hear a bit more about what initiatives the club is planning and what support the club will offer to Mt. A students looking to pursue a career in healthcare.
Like many Pre-Med students, McCarvell was inspired to go into medicine by her love of science and helping others: “I became interested in medicine when I would come with my mom to her office. When I was little I would google lists of rare diseases because I found that super interesting. I have always loved science and trying to figure out problems, and so medicine has always been super interesting to me.”
McCarvell is a third-year biopsychology major and biochemistry minor, and she decided along with her co-president Island Benard-Docker to start the club last year. She explained, “I started studying for the MCAT last winter, and I decided to stay home on Christmas break […] to find information on the MCAT and plan. After this planning and researching, I still felt like I had gotten nowhere.” The MCAT is a complicated and challenging entrance exam for medical school and many students do not know how to prepare. “There are several societies on campus like the Commerce Society and the Psychology Society, but there wasn’t one for people planning on going into medicine. We wanted to support students through what we went through planning for the MCAT, and applying to medical school,” said McCarvell.
The society will provide numerous supports to students to help them navigate the difficult path to medical school. McCarvell elaborated on the events the executive team is planning this year: “We are planning lots of different events this year, aiming for around one event a month. We are planning on having Ellie Hummel, Mt. A’s Multi-Faith Chaplain and Spiritual Care Coordinator, come in to talk to students about other things they may go through as well, like having difficult conversations and managing stress. We also plan to have Galen Juliusson, a photographer, to come in to take professional headshots for students because we know that is something a lot of students do not have.”
Mt. A alumni Nicole Barry also created a Medical Mentorship program. Barry is a fourth-year medical student who created the mentorship program so students looking to get into medicine could ask questions about medical school. This program is run through Slack workspace and is free for all students. While this program was not started by the Pre-Med Society, the group will work with them to provide more information to students.
Mt. A’s Pre- Med society will help students through their undergraduate degree, as well as support them in the process of applying to medical school. If any readers are interested in getting involved in the Pre- Med Society, they can follow their instagram page @mtapredmedsociety.
