Student Events for Culture, Heritage, and Community
Carle Illinois College of Medicine students engage in educational opportunities outside the classroom, including understanding the needs of the community and responding to these needs through creating service-based opportunities. CI MED students also foster community through a variety of student interest groups that celebrate culture, heritage, and community.
JMSA Service Project
The Jewish Medical Student Association (JMSA) held a combination service project and Shabbat dinner in early August 2025. With the support of clinical associate professor Dr. Holly Rosencranz, a group of Class of 2029 students collected donations and assembled over 100+ "Bags of Hope" for the Champaign homeless population. Each "Bag of Hope" was filled with essential supplies, including socks, toothbrushes and toothpaste, granola bars, and wipes, and were delivered to the Strides Shelter for distribution.
JMSA student leader Ben Shapiro described the experience as a very meaningful opportunity to bring classmates to together in service and was proud of what they accomplished.
Campaña de Salud
Physician innovators from Carle Illinois College of Medicine (CI MED) brought free health screenings and resources within reach for people facing barriers to care, including central Illinois’ LatinX community.
Carle Illinois medical students Aashka Shah, Kellie Mullany, Sabrina Mann, and Tarika Patel are leaders in Campaña de Salud, a student interest group at CI MED working to bridge gaps in health care access faced by historically underserved populations. Campaña de Salud is hosting a community health fair as part of Hispanic Heritage Patriotic Month.
SAMSA hosts Diwali Celebration
The South Asian Medical Student Association, coordinated by students Monica Bhagavan and Mukul Govande, hosted Diwali on October 30, 2022. Mukul describes the celebration and its importance in Asian culture.
Diwali, also known as the “Festival of Lights,” is from the Sanskrit dipavali, meaning "row or series of lights.” This festival is one of the most important festivals within Hinduism and generally lasts five days and is celebrated during mid-October and mid-November. It symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance.”
At our event, mostly attended by first- and second-year students, we hosted a potluck-styled dinner followed by lighting fireworks. It was a joyous time to remind each other of the importance of the festival and create a home away from our homes.
Health Policy Student Interest Group
The Carle Illinois College of Medicine Health Policy Student Interest Group shares voting resources for the November 8, 2022 midterm elections. The student-run group is encourages people to learn more about health care issues on the ballot. They are sharing state-specific ballot measures related to health care that can be found here.
The student-run group also created various resources on how to apply for a mail ballot, find your voting center, and learn about deadlines.
Exploring Modern Art & Humanism
This CI MED Hispanic Heritage Month Event: Exploring Modern Art & Humanism focused on the appreciation of art and its intersection with Hispanic culture in an effort to expand cultural humility. The event showcased some prominent Latino artists as students to joined in painting a canvas in any way that moves them, whether that reflects the artists' styles, their own.
The event was hosted by the CI MED Student Groups: Latino Medical Student Association (LMSA) and Student National Medical Assocation (SNMA).
PRIDE at Carle Illinois
Every year Carle Illinois College of Medicine students join several community organizations in the fall for the annual Champaign-Urbana Pride Fest in Downtown Urbana, Illinois.
CI MED students, led by the Carle Illinois PRIDE student group, provided educational materials and information affirming LGBTQ+ health care in the community as well as opportunities for attendees to have their vitals checked.
The CU Pride Fest was hosted by the Uniting Pride (UP) Center of Champaign County, which advocates for the equality, wellness, advocacy, and visibility of the LGBTQ+ communities in Champaign County.
Healing Harvest
The Healing Harvest event gave CI MED students the opportunity to provide health resources and information, participate in holistic health practices, and engage in the development of community with the people of Cunningham Township in Illinois.
APAMSA Mid-Autumn Fest
The Asian Pacific American Medical Student Association partnered with the Chinese American Association of Central Illinois in November to reach members of the community with information about APAMSA’s vaccine clinic, voter registration, and healthy eating and healthy lifestyle tips as part of the mid-Autumn festival.