B
y the time Andrew Sayers
finishes his education, he will be 28 years old. Sayers, a Baylor graduate student studying public health, has known he wanted to be a doctor ever since he was a child. Growing up as the son of a physician, Sayers was able to spend time at a clinic and witness the experiences of being a doctor. However, Sayers found himself tested by the rigors of preparing for the completion of his undergraduate education. “The toughest thing about being pre-med for me was junior year,” Sayers said. “Junior year is when you are in upper-level biology and chemistry courses and you are doing MCAT prep, which is scheduled in the spring or summer of that year.” In addition to the abundant amount of work, premed students are encouraged to get involved in medical organizations and participate in volunteer work. This is where Baylor’s pre-med volunteer program comes in. Baylor’s Medical Humanities Program has teamed up with the Family Health Center, a non-profit organization that provides healthcare to the vulnerable population of the Central Texas community. This partnership created a pre-med volunteer program where students are able to gain hands-on experience working in the medical field. Since the spring of 2013, Baylor students involved in Alpha Epsilon Delta, a pre-med student organization, have had the opportunity to serve the Waco community at the clinic on South 18 Street. The associate director of the Medical Humanities Program, Dr. Lauren Barron, teaches full-time at Baylor. In addition to teaching, she also practices medicine at Family Health Center clinics. Furthermore, Barron helped to pioneer the program. “I wanted to find a way for Baylor pre-med students to volunteer at the Family Health Center for many reasons, but mainly to do actual substantial service that really helps the staff and patients,” Barron said. “It’s basically matchmaking between motivated, bright, high-achieving pre-med students and harvesting their talents and energy in a way that provides real service in the community. Laura White, a senior pre-med student and one of Barron’s assistants, is the primary student in charge of
Photo Credit: Lauren Roller