Student Organization MAPS Recognized by the University Community

Pictured from left to right: MAPS vice-president DeLorean Ruffin, secretary Alicia Guerero, president Daphne Petit-Homme, event/project coordinator Precious Ezeamama, treasurer Cyndie Dern, volunteer coordinator Tania Torres-Delgado.

The Minority Association of Pre-health Students (MAPS) was recognized at the 2013 Student Affairs banquet receiving four student organization awards: Recognized Student Organization (RSO) of the year; RSO president of the year: Daphne Petit-Homme; RSO member of the year: Precious Ezeamama; and the St Rose of Lima Award for Community Involvement.  This is no small feat for an organization that was established less than two years ago, in fall 2011.  As an organization, MAPS also recognized the hard work and dedication of its PR coordinator Martha Lopez and event/project coordinator Precious Ezeamama. 

In the past academic year alone MAPS members organized a kickball tournament, enlisting the help of the other pre-health clubs AMSA, PrePASA and Tri-Beta to raise money for the American Heart Association; participated in the 2012 Miami-Dade Heart Walk; tabled in Thompson Hall raising awareness of heart disease; volunteered at the Breast Health Symposium in Opa-Locka; volunteered with the Breast Health Initiative, going door-to-door in SW Miami raising awareness of the importance of early detection; volunteered at the Empower U AIDS conference; tabled in Thompson Hall to raise awareness of AIDS statistics; invited medical students from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine to share their experiences and provide tips to pre-med students on campus; invited medical school admissions committee members to provide students with insights into medical school; served as Creole and Spanish translators at the Little Haiti, Little Havana, and Liberty City health fairs; organized the first-ever student health fair on campus providing students with the services of healthcare professionals, dental and medical insurance representatives; organized a month-long series of student-led workshops on navigating the medical and dental school application process (March Madness); served as exhibit facilitators at the 4^th Annual Brain Fair for Kids at the Miami Science Museum; organized a health disparities panel discussion with health professionals from Barry, the University of Georgia and the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in observance of Minority Health Month; and in another collaborative effort with AMSA and Tri-Beta, volunteered at the Nautica South Beach Triathlon, a fundraiser for St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

On tap for the coming academic year: health education outreach to community centers in the underserved communities of Overtown and Little Havana, new professional development opportunities for pre-health students, and health education for the Barry student body.