Latino Heritage Month Guest Speaker Event

September 15 thru October 15 is Latino Heritage Month. It is a month where we recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to society and celebrate the Hispanic heritage and culture. DUCOM LMSA celebrated with food and having 2 guest speakers, Dr Ana Nunez and Dr Eugene Santillano come and speak to us about their experiences in Latino American health. Dr Nunez is renowned for her Women's Health lectures at Drexel Med and Dr Santillano is a graduate of the class of 2003, he now practices in Family Medicine in Norristown.

Dinner was provided by members of LMSA as well as donations from Mexican Post and Tequila's Restaurant and Bar. It was a welcome break from a long day of school, studying and tutoring! The food was of course delicious, special consideration to whoever brought/made the tiramisu (Latino it ain't but delectable it sure is).

The talk by Dr Nunez was enlightening as always. She spoke about disparities in health care for Latinos in the US and the tasks that lie before us as future physicians. Dr Santillano spoke in depth about change and the people and events that influence those changes reflected in stories in his life leading up to becoming a Family Practitioner in the Philadelphia area.









--Henry

LMSA/ASPIRA 1st Tutoring Session of the year

Today was the 1st tutoring session for LMSA in the new school year. We've tutored in the past at a different school but what's changed this year is ASPIRA has more funding. There are now professional teachers and instructors and the entire program is more structured and organized. The school is located in North Philly near St Christopher's Hospital.


It was also the 1st day of the program for ASPIRA so to kick things off, the teachers put on a show called "ASPIRA's Got Talent" where various teachers performed acts and were voted on by judges, just like the real show on TV. It was a hit with the kids and medical students too.


After the opening act, the kids broke up into groups and got an orientation to the classes they would be participating in. I joined the Scrabble/Chess class and we did some ice breakers and introductions which was pretty fun and the teachers seemed very enthusiastic to be there. We didn't get to tutor but some of us did interact with the kids. Let me tell ya, those kids are great, I can tell it's going to be a fun year spending time and building relationships with them.



--Henry

LMSA Officers 2010-2011 & Current Programs

LMSA Officers:
      Presidents:
           Carla Zeballos (Email)
           Katie Belleisle (Email)
      Treasurer: Emily West (Email)
      Executive Public Relations: Marc Olshan (Email)
      Secretary: Eduardo Matto (Email)
      Membership/Alumni Chair: Claudia Ruiz (Email)
      Community Service Coordinators
           Tutoring:
                Literacy Program (3rd grade): Natalia Uribe (Email)
                High School Program: Max Oran (Email)
                Spanish Table: needs filling
                Community Health Presentations: Chris Hetrick (Email)
                Community Outreach Coordinator: Evan Smith (Email)
      Webmaster: Henry Siem (Email)



2010-2011 LMSA Programs:

1. Tutoring: Drexel Medical students tutor high school and 3rd grade students at the ASPIRA after school program in North Philly (weekly).


2. Community Health Presentations: Bilingual presentations on requested health issues are given to leaders of the Huntington Neighborhood (monthly).


3. Latino Heritage Month: Sabor Latino – For Latino Heritage Month (once a year), LMSA DUCOM students make a authentic Latino dish to share with other students. At the event, posters, and slideshows discussing prominent Latino historical figures are displayed.


4. Spanish Lunch Table: Students of all Spanish language proficiency levels spend lunch break speaking in Spanish with other medical students (weekly).


5. LMSA-Medical School Collaborate Socials: LMSA DUCOMjoins other LMSA-NE chapters in the Philadelphia area to network, discuss, and socialize (twice annually).


6. National Conference: Two members of LMSA-DUCOM attend the LMSA National Conference (annually).


7. Collaborate Fundraisers with other Medical Organizations (SNMA, etc.): As the need arises, ex: Chilean and Haitian earthquake, LMSA DUCOM collaborate with other Drexel clubs to raise money for those in need.