President’s Letter

January 2014

Dear Charles Drew members and our valued supporters,

Happy New Year! Wow, what an eventful fall semester it has been.   We have been able to welcome countless new members into the Charles Drew family and plan many beneficial events for the pre-medical community at Columbia.  One of the most important lessons I have learned here over the course of my pre-med journey is that solid support systems are key to both perseverance and success.  With that being said, it has been great to build a support system within the Charles Drew community and I sincerely hope that this network of support for all our members can continue to grow next semester and beyond.  This past semester, we have been able to execute many new initiatives including hosting a successful blood drive before the holiday season and a highly attended and informative second general body meeting.  Also, we kicked off the semester with a medical school dean panel that was very insightful.

I would like to publicly thank our general body, organizational committee, and executive board members for your dedication and enthusiasm to our organization.  Without each of you, Charles Drew would certainly not be as successful.  Additionally, I would like to express my gratitude to each of our guests that Charles Drew hosted.  Thank you first and foremost for your valuable time but also, for providing your wisdom and valuable input to our organization. Finally, I would like to thank our advisor and each of the organizations and offices we partnered with this past semester, including the Office of Pre-Professional Advising.  It has been a pleasure to partner with each of you and your support is greatly appreciated.

Please look out for our upcoming events next semester, including a second medical school dean panel and medical school visit.   As always, please do not hesitate to contact us with any feedback or event suggestions.

I wish each of our members an amazing spring semester.  Additionally, good luck to all who are preparing for the MCAT, interviewing at medical schools, or organizing their medical school application for this upcoming cycle.  I cannot wait to hear about upcoming medical school acceptances.  We are all in this pre-med journey together!

See you next semester,

Brianna Olamiju (CC’15)

president