Making connections
My, oh, my, has the semester flown by. It feels like just the other day that the Class of 2019 and their new purple backpacks were nervously marching through the Dr. Murray O’Neil Medical Education Centre for the very first time. Now, fast approaching their first set of medical school final exams, I’m sure that many of you have started to call this place your home away from home.
There is a lot to be said about the hard-work that all of us put into our medical education, day in and out, in Windsor and across the country. Countless hours are spent studying the inner workings of the human body and mastering the skills necessary to help heal it. It is impressive, to say the least, that all of our hard-work will not stop here and that we have have been keeping busy in all sorts of other ways too.
Beyond academia, we also bolster impressive athletic and creative talents. Fielding several intramural teams in basketball, soccer, frisbee, volleyball, football, foosball and water polo, we have been staying very active. The Windsor class band has also remained very active with weekly meetings in preparation for a month of November filled with performances. Finally, in early December, we will be demonstrating an even wider array of abilities at our very own charity talent show, hosted by the Green Bean Café.
The fall semester has been eventful, to say the least. Starting off with a bang by hosting the CFMS Annual General Meeting, the events kept on coming. The Class of 2019, soon after, travelled up to Kingston for the annual OMSW conference and had a terrific time from the sounds of it. Next, Windsor hosted the London class for the first integration weekend of the year. This weekend was packed with a variety activities including Detroit Lions and Detroit Red Wings games, a local Disney’s Little Mermaid production and our infamous band night. Finally, the semester will conclude with the annual Windsor Program Holiday Party at the Ambassador Golf Club on December 1.
We have also been working hard to give back to the local community through a wide array of mentorship programs. Altitude: Healthcare Mentoring, and MedPals are initiatives that match first-year University of Windsor undergraduate students and local high school students with medical student volunteers for unique one-on-one mentorship opportunities. Additionally, a Pre-Med Symposium was organized to provide interested undergraduate students with information regarding the path to medical school. It is great to see so much local interest in the medical profession and to have so many student volunteers to support these future learners.
I would like to recognize a group of students that has been working hard the entire month of November by growing or supporting the growth of magnificent moustaches. Though often comical, their efforts managed to raise a significant amount of money for the Movember Foundation, which works to raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health in men. For more information about the campaign and entertaining picture evidence please visit their webpage.
As winter fast approaches and the Class of 2018 begins to question their choices in examination clothing, I hope that you all look forward to our upcoming time off. I wish you all a fantastic holiday break, filled with family, friends and holiday cheer.
Happy Holidays.
Alex
