What is your club about? 

MEDLife helps low-income communities in Africa and Latin America improve their access to healthcare, education, and community development projects. Due to the pandemic, the MEDLife Movement has shifted its focus to funding pop up soup kitchens in Peru to help with the increased food insecurity in these areas.

When was your club established?

MEDLife is fairly new at Moravian College as it is only 3-4 years old. Kate Arner, who graduated in 2020, was the first president and was also the one who brought the MEDLife Movement to Moravian.

Who are your current leaders (advisors, president, vice president, etc.)?

We have a great executive board leading this club! Emily Buonocore is the President, Jill Kopchak is the VP/Recruitment, Lupe Rivera is the Service Learning Trip Coordinator, Taylor Fox is the Treasurer/Fundraiser, and Brianna Boggs is running the club’s social media pages. Our club advisor is Dr. Heilmayr, who is the Assistant Professor of Health Psychology here at Moravian.

When does your club meet?

We usually have general meetings once or twice a month on Tuesdays at 7 pm on Zoom. If anyone’s interested in attending a meeting, email [email protected] for more information.

What is the most popular activity that the campus knows you for?

MEDLife was known for holding a MOD Pizza fundraiser every spring semester. We also attended WISE Club’s annual science day for Girl Scouts every year. Last year we created butterflies out of tissue paper and taught the girls what MEDLife is all about.

What are the biggest challenges that your club faces?

One of the biggest issues that our club is facing right now is how COVID-19 has put a pause on traveling to other countries. We are known for is our Service Learning Trips and usually have a few members either travel to poor communities in Latin America or Africa to run clinics, infrastructure projects, and various other volunteer opportunities. Due to the pandemic, MEDLife has had to shift their in-person Service Learning Trips to virtual.

If you could pair up with another club for an event or project, who would it be?

MEDLife would love to team up with Gamma Sigma Sigma for an event or even volunteer with them locally. As a National Service Sorority, they value volunteering, equality, and overall humanity, which lines up perfectly with MEDLife’s goals.

What is the latest project that your club is excited about?

Our club has been brainstorming fundraising ideas that will get MEDLife’s name out there to the Moravian community. We are trying to come up with events that no other clubs have done yet. Stay tuned to our new Facebook and Instagram page @moravianmedlife for announcements!

If you had an unlimited budget, what dream project would your club put it towards?

If we had an unlimited budget, we would immediately donate it to the vulnerable communities in Latin America and Africa to help them build their communities and people up. And since we are saying unlimited, we would also get some new merch for our club like t-shirts, hats, and masks.

Is this club mostly for Pre-Med and Pre-health majors?

Not at all! Our club is open to anyone that cares about people and equality. For example, we have members who have majors in Biology to Biochemistry to Education! We would love having members from a variety of majors as we value different perspectives. 

Answers provided by Emily Buonocore.