By Billy Zhang
Newton Fields of St. Kitts was abuzz this past February 14th, 2015 with the chants of each semester teams clamoring for the bragging rights of being the first UMHS Med Olympics winners hosted by the UMHS Sports Club and Student Government Association (SGA) of UMHS, one of the leading Caribbean medical schools. From 11am-2 pm, semesters competed against one another in the following seven competitions: sack relay, basketball, pie eating contest, relay race, dodge ball, water balloon toss, and tug of war. The blue team, consisting of students in their MED4/EBS5 semester, took home the first place prize.
The Winter 2015 Student Government Association (SGA) made it one of their top priorities to plan an event that took advantage of a different aspect of St. Kitts beyond the beautiful sandy beaches: the open fields and basketball courts. This semester’s UMHS Med Olympics was welcomed by a sunny day, fueled by the competitive spirit of the student body.
MED4/EBS5 STUDENTS TAKE FIRST PLACE: (Pictured standing, left): Billy Zhang, Alexander Torres, Jon Eddy, Jake Glasser, Soren Estovold, Andrew Milian, Ruben Cabrera, Jordan Stahv, Joshuam Ruiz, Shreyas Kanthandi, Andrew Victor. (Front left): Ashraf Allahwala, Devyn Rohlfs, Ana Leon, Yari Soto, Lee Wagner, Kayla Miller. Photo: UMHS SGA
EBS3 student, Alex Zayid, designed the T-shirt design worn by each semester. President Ross also agreed to match the total amount raised, allowing the SGA flexibility with further activities and fundraisers. The SGA has since planned to donate a portion of the proceeds to a local Kittitian in need of physical therapy due to an injury sustained in December 2005. This donation is in conjunction with Dr. Kumar of the ICM department at UMHS.
This was just one of many events that the SGA has programmed thus far. Prior to the UMHS Med Olympics, the SGA was busy packaging and delivering candy grams to the student body as a part of a Valentine’s Day fundraiser. This fundraiser saw participation from students, faculty, and staff, sending smiles and laughs to their friends and loved ones. The SGA has plenty more on the agenda, and they have only just begun.
(Top photo) UMHS STUDENT JOSE BERRIOS: Driving in for the layup against the EBS5/MED4 team. Photo: UMHS SGA
About UMHS:
Built in the tradition of the best US universities, the University of Medicine and Health Sciencesfocuses on individual student attention, maintaining small class sizes and recruiting high-quality faculty. We call this unique approach, “personalized medical education,” and it’s what has led to our unprecedented 96% student retention rate, and outstanding residency placements across the US and Canada.
Scott is Director of Digital Content & Alumni Communications Liaison at UMHS and editor of the UMHS Endeavour blog. When he's not writing about UMHS students, faculty, events, public health, alumni and UMHS research, he writes and edits Broadway theater reviews for a website he publishes in New York City, StageZine.com.
