Chester Chan

I strongly believe in AMSA’s motto of “action” and will use my previous experiences to act wisely on your behalf. I’ve worked in diverse communities both domestically and internationally. I taught chem and physics to over 100 NYC high-school students for two years; during my time, the physics Regents pass rate increased from one student per year to 10 students per year. During a study abroad in Cameroon, I interviewed local patients and traditional healers in order to understand Western and traditional Cameroonian health systems. After my trip, I raised approximately $2000 to send Cameroonian orphans to school through a benefit concert, candy bar sales, and an online auction. Much of this was accomplished as president of the UW Golden Key chapter; I led a society of about 400 members. I also worked in the software industry before deciding that computers weren’t for me.

What these experiences have shown me are two things: what it means to be underserved and how to solve difficult problems. I’ve seen what health disparities mean to both inner-city and international youth. I’ve set and accomplished goals as a teacher, an honor society president, and a software programmer. I’d be honored to represent you and promise to get the job done.

Scott Deroo

As an AMSA M1 executive board member, I feel I could help bring relevant M1 issues to the attention of the greater AMSA board, and work to help plan and institute AMSA activities beneficial to both the AMSA community and the greater Ann Arbor community.  Along with helping to coordinate previously existing AMSA conferences, trips, and service days, I feel that I could bring with me some ideas for new AMSA events that would be particularly useful to M1 students.  For example, I know that it was extremely difficult to get a spot volunteering at one of the free clinics this semester.  Maybe it would be possible to have an AMSA hosted weekend info session where some clinical students or willing physicians could help give us some guidance and practice in doing clinical basics such as blood pressure and H&P’s, as well as provide some basic info on a few drugs commonly prescribed for outpatient care at free clinics.  I know it’s not perfect, but it seems like an event like this could help make us more “employable” for future clinical opportunities, as well as help reinforce some of the clinical knowledge we are sure to get during CFM weeks.

Additionally, it seems like a large part of AMSA’s appeal is our ability to make our voice heard and institute change through collective action.  I know there are several conferences on both the regional and national level that we send people to each year, and I think as an M1 exec board rep I could help spread the word about these opportunities.  Maybe in an effort to get more out of these conferences we could even set up some low-key, informal discussion sessions prior to the conference where we could discuss relevant issues and help provide some background info for what will be discussed.  Ultimately, I would love the opportunity to get involved planning events with AMSA, and would be thrilled to represent the M1 class on the AMSA executive board.

Megan Gayeski

My name is Megan Gayeski and I am running for AMSA M1 Chair. I think that I would be a great representative for the M1 class and for all of AMSA. As an undergrad, I was the Public Relations Manager for an organization (Broomball) that involved over a third of students on my campus. I was involved in planning and researching events and working with administrative officials, both of which would help me as a member of AMSA’s executive board. I also worked on a variety of projects which dealt with my university’s administration to improve the student experience.

In addition, I’ve always actively followed the issues that medical students face. As the M1 AMSA Chair, I would actively campaign to better our medical school experience, both here at Michigan and within the community. I am also originally from the area and have many ideas for places and events to get professional experience and help the community. I really think that my background and attitude would make me a great choice for M1 Chair!

Julia Geynisman

I am interested in being the M1 AMSA chair because I believe that although it is hard enough to advocate for the patient you physically see sitting before you, it is important that physicians venture even further, to educate, advocate and provide service for patients they will never see. This often requires a great deal of idealism, courage and perseverance, qualities which we as medical students, and I specifically, can bring to discussions of health promotion and health equality in the medical community.

I have experience working in health advocacy, as an intern at Partners in Health, the Boston-based organization that operates clinics in 8 developing countries and as an intern at the Respiratory Health Association of Chicago, a lung health advocacy non-profit that was the major sponsor of Illinois’ indoor smoking ban. Additionally, I have worked at the US Department of Health and Human Services in Chicago, the regional center for the Midwest states, including Michigan and have contacts in the federal health offices here in Michigan. Working directly under the Assistant Surgeon General, I have planned several city-wide health events together with the public health service commissioned corps and written a curriculum for teaching health promotion to college freshmen.

I would like to continue to develop my experience in health advocacy as your representative to the AMSA executive board.

Garin Hecht

Hi Guys!  I'm really excited about the opportunity to get involved with AMSA and its goals of progressing medicine and healthcare on local, national, and international levels.  I spent part of my year off volunteering for the Obama campaign, which included running my own local fundraising campaign in California, spending a week campaigning in central Texas, and putting together a phone-banking team for the North Carolina primary campaign.  What I most took away from these experiences is a realization that when young people (yeah, that includes us!) get informed and involved in complicated societal issues, we can shape progress and accomplish (dare I say "change"?) a lot.  Not to get too preachy, but it goes without saying that current status of healthcare in our society has many significant shortfalls as well as a very uncertain future that we will inherit. 

AMSA gives both a national voice to medical students and a local exposure to so many of the issues that plague our current healthcare system (caring for uninsured populations, community awareness of and screening for diseases, etc.).  I feel confident and prepared to fulfill the roles of the M1 Chair position, which include coordinating local lobbying and community service events and liaising with the medical school administration.  More importantly, though, I am extremely motivated to get involved with the organization and see what we can accomplish.  Thanks!

Adeel Khan

Hi! My name is Adeel Khan and I’m running for AMSA’s M1 Chair position. With your vote, it’d be my pleasure to represent our class and help offer worthwhile events.

Since I’m sure we’ve all heard enough election stuff by now (Nader for 2008!! yEaH!), I’d like to present you, my classmates, with a specific platform - that is, if elected, I plan to guide AMSA to this purpose. In particular, I enjoy service activities and would like to plan some clinically-oriented ones. Back in college, I was very active in volunteering and always found that hospital or clinic visits were very rewarding. They were heart-breaking at times but they were great in cultivating humanitarianism and displaying real-life medicine beyond mere molecules. In that spirit, I’d be happy to organize ventures to free clinics (akin to like the Delonis Clinic) since they’re a great way to hone our early clinical skills and to offer some good to the surrounding communities. They’ll be fun and very beneficial so if that interests you, VOTE FOR ADEEL!

YES WE CAN!!!

Andrea Kussman

I am excited to run for AMSA M1 chair primarily because of my enthusiasm about AMSA.  Many of the issues which AMSA chooses to address are ones which I would personally love to tackle.  Having worked in a free clinic, I am committed to increasing access to healthcare, and I would appreciate a platform from which I could advocate for general medical student well-being.  I would also like to advocate for things around the University of Michigan community such as more ecologically friendly practices in the hospital, and formal inclusion of domestic violence and sexual assault in the medical school curriculum.  In fact, there are so many interesting AMSA activities, events, and committees about which I am excited, that I felt the best way for me to get involved would be in a more holistic role like the M1 chair.  I am approachable and eager to hear your ideas.  Furthermore, I am confident liaising with the medical school administration and will actively pursue the interests, ideas, and agendas of our class.  Thanks for your consideration!

Shaw Natsui

I decided to pursue medicine because of the social inequalities at the root of disparities in health and because of the community of people in this profession that believe that high quality care is a right to every person.  (If you feel me, stand up!!)  These priorities vibe well with AMSA's own mission and core values, which is why I want to get involved as an M1 Chair.  In this role, I want to help build a tight, fun community of Michigan med students who not only care about whatever issue(s), but feel that they can learn, teach, and act productively on their interest/fire/anger/love.  Being an M1 Chair would be my main thing here at UofM, aside from some weekend kicks and bball and hopefully getting involved in something in Detroit.

I'm real excited about AMSA and our M1 class, and feel that's the only qualification needed of anyone.  I also have experience with the types of responsibilities expected of the Chairs.  I've worked with lots of different teams of students, community members/organizations, and University administration, while serving as President of the Phillips Brooks House Association (PBHA), a student-run non-profit dedicated to social service and social action thru community partnership that involves 76 programs, over 1800 student volunteers, and 10,000 individuals in Boston and Cambridge.  Over the last few years since college, I've worked in the Juvenile Justice project at Physicians for Human Rights; as a community/youth organizer thru a community health center / housing project in Roxbury, Boston; and as part of a TB/AIDS initiative in the outskirts of Lima, Peru.  I'd be psyched to bring insights, ideas, and energy from these voices of these people I care about to UM/AMSA.

Sadhana Nayak-Young

I would love to serve my M1 classmates and AMSA as an M1 chair! I was excited to learn that the main national medical students group is an activist group, encouraging pursuit of those ideals that drew most of us to medicine in the first place: justice in health care, access for everyone, the ethical practice of medicine and so on – ideals that are easily lost along the way to potential six-figure-plus salaries if not nurtured and put into practice.

I have been an activist all my life for social justice issues. For example, I ran a large voter registration campaign in Virginia’s underrepresented neighborhoods during the last presidential election and organized a contingent of more than 500 activists from my area to participate in a march on Washington DC for women’s reproductive rights, which turned out to be the largest march on DC in history. In my many years working between college and med school, I worked for a nonprofit lobbying the FDA for regulatory changes, and also cofounded a startup company. I would bring experience, organizational skills and most importantly, passion, as M1 chair. Thanks in advance for your vote!

Raina Vachhani

While there are several great organizations at our school, I think AMSA has the potential to get the most students involved in projects, policy and activism. I would love this opportunity to throw my effort into such a great organization. I’ve had great experiences with student groups and leadership in the past and I’m very conscious of my role as a member of a group. I’m excited to learn the ropes from older members so I can help lead the group as I gain more experience.

Since we are all future doctors, it’s extremely important that we start realizing our roles as respected and responsible members of our communities. As students, we can do this effectively through non-medical volunteerism and activism. Through the broad-spanning structure of AMSA, we can develop even more projects that our members are passionate about.  I would like to take a group of students to an impoverished community (in the U.S. or Mexico) to work on construction, cleaning, or teaching for a weekend or a spring break. I would also like to establish a program to build relationships with middle- or high-school kids in the area who are interested in medicine. Even though we’re still students, there are so many ways that we can use our talents productively to help other people around us.