Diary of a Caribbean Med Student

It’s often frightening to go somewhere you’ve never been before, especially to a foreign country with a different system, by yourself. Luckily, for first-time arrivers to St. Maarten, getting to AUC is rather easy. There are many options for new students coming to AUC to get to campus after arriving at the airport. Here, I will describe four. 1. School … Continue reading

Last semester in July, the internet had been pretty decent, fast enough for Skype and YouTube. However, this semester, I noticed that the internet speed had slowed down a lot, due to the increase in number of students on campus this semester, and unfortunately, the unfair hogging of the internet by the several individuals who have found ways to breach… Continue reading

I am thankful for…

…Irene for being the giver and supporter she is, and the trust we share with each other.

…My friends for making me feel at home here, making me laugh, and keeping me sane.

…My family for supporting me.

…My professors for teaching me to become what I want to be.

…My colleagues in SGA and the

… Continue reading

This past Saturday at 7:30 in the morning, my fellow students and I at AUC sacrificed our Saturday morning sleep-ins for a special mission. It was Community Action Day, a student-run event held every two semesters where we volunteer our time and efforts to give back to the island community that hosts our school. With over 200 of us signing… Continue reading

Every semester, Phi Chi, the co-ed medical fraternity, holds one of the most successful student events on campus, the Wine and Cheese Gala, held every semester at the residence of Dr. Atchley, the Director of Community Services at AUC. As I have never been a big fan of wine, I hadn’t gone the last 3 semesters, but hearing so many… Continue reading

Wow! I totally didn’t expect to receive this award today! I got an invitation to go to a luncheon for the Dean’s List students but I didn’t know why (since I knew I wasn’t on the Dean’s List). I went, and there, the school administration presented to 8 of us certificates of appreciation for our actions during Hurricane Earl at… Continue reading

Hello everyone, I’d like to share with you all a global health trip that some of my friends and professors at AUC organized this past August break. Over 10 days, 13 students and 2 professors traveled to the rural Amazonian village of Yantalo, Peru where they organized workshops in infectious diseases, nutrition, CPR, and sexual health to school children and… Continue reading

It’s always fun to get a free t-shirt, but for me, I say it’s even more fun to help design it and see it made! Last semester, I was given the opportunity to choose the color scheme for the new Orientation Advisor (OA) T-shirts. The graphic design is the same every semester, with the school’s name and a flower-and-bird motif… Continue reading

As a fourth semester medical student, one of the classes I am taking is Pharmacology. It is such a practical and useful class, and one that teaches the large overarching concepts of how medicines work and why we dose the way we dose, as well as the small, nitty-gritty, yet practical details of pharmacological agents. We learn different treatment plans… Continue reading

When I was younger, I’ve traveled quite a bit through Canada, but never have I personally known as many Canadians as I do now after coming to AUC… they are my friends, my colleagues, and even my professors. Despite being completely different countries, for the most part we are similar culturally, socially, and linguistically. Yet, there are just some differences… Continue reading

Last night the Asian Student Medical Association (ASMA) held its annual Halloween Costume Contest and Party at Tantra Nightclub. As I didn’t go last year, this year some friends and I decided to go as Alice in Wonderland characters. I went as Ace of Hearts (with a Wenckebach, of course). It was really fun seeing some of the costumes out… Continue reading

As the new historian, one of my tasks is to maintain the SGA bulletin board on a weekly basis, posting the newest student body news, minutes from the SGA meetings, and list of upcoming events. As the board was last updated in 2006, anything would have easily made the board look nicer. Here are some changes I’ve made! But first,… Continue reading

About: La Belle Creole was formerly a five-star hotel located in French St. Martin. It was destroyed by Hurricane Luis in 1995 and was never rebuilt. Today, the hotel lies in ruins, but its beauty and former glory still shines through. Highlights: Beautiful architecture, Amazing views of the ocean from the ruins, Exploring ruins and wondering how this could all happen. Continue reading

I am happy to announce that I am now the first SGA Historian at the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine. Originally last week, there was going to be an election as there was one other person interested in the position, but as the other candidate backed out last minute, I remained uncontested, and therefore all I needed… Continue reading

Yesterday on Friday night, the Canadian Medical Students Association (CMSA) held a school-wide hockey tournament to help fundraise their new organization. As hockey was Arif’s national sport (he’s Canadian), one of Chris’ favorite sports and something he used to play, we decided to go check it out and cheer for our friends. The tournament was held at the basketball court… Continue reading

Whether you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, or don’t identify with any religion, AUC overall is a very diversity-friendly community. There are students and faculty from all backgrounds and faiths here, coming together, united by the common passion to help others in medicine. For those of you who are interested in worshiping with your fellow classmates, AUC has… Continue reading

On 10-10-10, St. Maarten celebrated with a flag-raising ceremony and fireworks as the Netherlands Antilles was disbanded and St. Maarten becomes a constituent country of the Netherlands. With a history of 56 years, the Netherlands Antilles had been one of the three constituent countries that formed the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the other two being Aruba and Holland. Sint Maarten,… Continue reading

To fulfill the long-overdue need for documenting events and updating news among the student body at AUC, last week (9/29/2010), the members of the Student Government Association at AUC amended the SGA bylaws and voted to add a new position to the executive board, the SGA Historian! The following new amendments describe the roles of the Historian: (V) Historian The… Continue reading