My Experience with CampMed: Medicine & Mentorship

Blog by Eunnie Wu

My group for CampMed!

As a first-year student at UCLA, the idea of joining clubs was really daunting. There are thousands of them to choose from, and many are selective. Aspiring members are usually (at least for the clubs I wanted to join) required to submit a written application and then undergo one or two rounds of interviews. The entire process was really tough for me because I had to face a lot of rejection, but this experience has proved to be really valuable in terms of preparing me for future applications and interviews. A club that I joined in the fall that I want to spotlight is CampMed because volunteering with them was such a rewarding experience. 

Suturing workshop!

CampMed is an organization that centers around planning and coordinating a 3-day camp for local high school students to learn more about college applications, what it’s like to be a pre-health student, and graduate school (ex. medical school). Most of the year is trying to fundraise, since renting out a large space for 3 days is quite expensive. We also planned many social events to get to know the other members, since we all had to prepare to be counselors for groups of 6-7 high school students. Being able to mentor students from the LA area made me feel a lot more connected to the community since we got to talk a lot about our experiences growing up and future plans. As someone who did not grow up in LA, it was a very eye-opening experience to speak with the students in my group. Most of them came from James Monroe High School, Panorama High School, and other surrounding schools, so students were able to meet people from nearby places. 

Ambulance tour!

Our theme this year was Spongebob, so all the groups were divided into different Spongebob characters/”families” (my group was Squidward!). Each “family” worked on gaining “family points” by participating in discussions or certain winning competitions. The event was held on the UCLA campus, so we were able to give a campus tour (through a scavenger hunt!) and recruit guest speakers from UCLA’s medical school and Ronald Reagan Medical Center. We explored various fields in medicine, such as being a travel nurse or pharmacist. We were also able to teach students how to suture and how to correctly give CPR, as well as observing an EMT demonstration by UCLA EMS and having an ambulance tour. The games we played with the students were also super fun!

Lastly, building relationships with fellow UCLA students has helped with gaining a sense of belonging on campus. I got to know my co-counselors pretty well, and we're all thinking about continuing as counselors into the next school year! For most of my life, I wasn't really a social person, so it was a bit difficult at first to make friends through clubs, but I really recommend stepping out of your comfort zone to get to know people. Even if it's scary at first, taking the risk to talk to people is definitely worth it.

Overall, I’d say my experience with CampMed as a first year was very rewarding, and my advice is to find an organization that aligns with your passions. For me, it would be medicine and working with high school students. Even if you can’t find a club that fits right away, it is never too late to keep looking!

Instagram: @campmeducla