At the very start of the school year, Eureka College Junior Daphne Collette took notice to the lack of clubs for students focusing on sciences, specifically those looking to go into different medical fields. After looking around at the college’s club fair, she saw groups and organizations for students interested in student government, music, journalism, religion, reading and Greek Life. Noticing the lack of science and medicine focused organizations, Collette took matters into her own hands and made her own. As of early September, the Eureka College Pre-Medical Society became an active club on campus.

As mentioned in the club’s constitution, the society is open to any student that wants to go on to be a medical professional. This includes but is surely not limited to, doctors, nurses, surgeons, physical therapists, athletic trainers, dentists, and veterinarians. According to Collette, eligibility for the society is not determined on your major but more so what you plan to do with your major. Collette herself is a double major in both Biology and Chemistry with a minor in Neuroscience, and she plans to go to medical school, with the intentions of becoming a neurosurgeon.

Eureka College professor Dr. Sara Dixon has agreed to be the faculty advisor for the pre-medical Society. Dr. Dixon attended medical school at A.T Still University in Kirksville, Missouri, but was previously involved with an origination like Collette’s Pre-Medical Society at her alma mater, Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, and found the origination very helpful for her.

“I was involved in a similar organization at SIU-C. I think this society is a fantastic way for students with similar career goals to share ideas, learn about various aspects of healthcare, and network,” Dixon said.

Dixon seems very optimistic about the future of the pre-medical society and highly recommends the society for any student that may be interested in a medical career. “Any time you have the opportunity to network and collaborate with like-minded individuals, amazing results occur.”

Even though the society has only recently become active, Collette has already recruited more than enough new members to fill all officer positions and more. She also has plans for her new society’s activities. Her plans include providing help on graduate school applications, and test prep for all the different graduate school entrance exams. Once a year, she also wants to have a fundraiser to donate to a medical cause. She wants to help members of the club find volunteer opportunities to add to their applications, and she also hopes to host guest speakers that have gone on to graduate programs and worked in medical fields with hopes of giving advice to the next generation.

When Collette started the process of creating her new organization, she spoke with Director of Student Engagement, Pammy Levinson. That’s where she learned that a few years ago, an organization like hers previously existed at Eureka College. The organization was called Eureka College Pre-Health. Their website, Instagram and Facebook pages are all still online, and it appears as it hasn’t been updated in a long time. Their Instagram page hasn’t been posted on since 2020, and the same can be said for the Facebook page, except this time it’s early 2021 and their website had no recent blog posts or updates. Collette learned there is a bulletin board on the second floor of Vennum Binkley Hall, that still has the pre-health clubs information on it. Collette was unaware of the pre-health clubs’ existence until speaking with Levinson, not even aware of the information on the bulletin board. Inspiration for some of her society’s activities and parts of the constitution were inspired by the previously existing Pre-Health club.

Collette decided to form the club, at first, to add something to her own medical school applications. But after she got the idea for what club she was going to start and what that club was going to do, it became more about what the club could do. She’s looking forward to starting activities with the society members.  She learned she can bring something back to the Eureka College community that’s been missing these past few years.

Collette hopes that the society helps other students feel better about applying to their respective grad schools, preparing for their entrance exams, get quality service experience, network, and add a little something to their medical school applications, and that it will even leave a lasting impact on the community.