Upper level science courses such as organic chemistry, advanced human anatomy, and physics can be challenging. The lower level ones aren’t a walk in the park by any means either – I was personally given quite a bit of grief by Gen Chem II back in freshman year. Thanks to the newly revamped Pre-Professional Health Sciences (PPHS) club, students will no longer need to tackle these challenging courses alone.
EMU juniors Sophia Nguyen and Dulce Shenk Zeager are bringing back the PPHS club to give students working towards a career in the health sciences a place to meet with like-minded individuals. During the 2023-2024 school year, the club was alive and well, providing opportunities for peer learning and guidance, but leadership graduated and the club left with them. Nguyen said, “We hadn’t heard much about it these past two years, and after talking to some professors, we found out that there was no one running it.” When asked why they wanted to start the club back up, Shenk Zeager said, “Honestly, just the fact that it isn’t really known about, it has a lot of potential.”
Rosa Martin Fonseca, another junior, was a member of the club her freshman year and recalls her time with the club as a valuable part of her learning experience. She said, “It was just a good space to be productive… if you had any questions on any classes like advanced anatomy, a lot of the people already had that class.” Martin Fonseca went on to say that members would have study guides from previous classes, which was useful when preparing for an exam or quiz. The club was a good environment for focusing on PPHS specific classes and topics, and the members served as helpful study partners.
Nguyen and Shenk Zeager are eager to get the club back up and running, and are currently working with Jeff Copeland, Professor of Biology, on how best to do that. Outside of regular meetings, which serve as a great time for studying, working on assignments, or tutoring, there will also be special events that are currently in the works. Martin Fonseca mentioned past events featuring guest speakers, which act as a great way to learn more about career and research opportunities as well as grow professional networks. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Pre-Professional Health Sciences club at EMU, or just want more information, reach out to one of the Co-Presidents through their emails: sophia.nguyen@emu.edu or dulce.shenkzeager@emu.edu.
