GHLC's Kickoff Event - An Ice Cream Social

On Thursday, September 13th, SLU's Global Health Learning Community had our kick-off event to start the 2012-2013 academic year. In hopes of educating the new incoming first year students about the numerous opportunities in global health education, the GHLC board invited both students and faculty to converse over Ted's Drews ice cream, a Saint Louis classic.

Attending faculty included Dr Wilman Ortega (Internal Medicine) who organizes an annual summer trip to Antigua, Guatemala; Dr Timothy Rice (Internal Medicine, Pediatrics) who travels to the Democratic Republic of Congo and organizes international fourth year rotations; Dr. Sharon Frey (Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease), a vaccinologist, researcher in bio-terrorism and bio-warfare, and faculty adviser for GHLC; and Dr. Dean Trevathan (Dean for the School of Public Health).

In addition to faculty, there were also a number of second years students who are active in both GHLC and global service opportunities to share their perspective on going abroad or serving locally. All of the second year students had either participated in a summer mission trip, traveling to Guatemala, Panama, or Kenya, or have organized an elective in Medical Chinese, Medical Spanish, or Women's Health for students to participate throughout their first and second years. With over sixty students stopping by, the event was a great success and we hope to continue the enthusiasm and vigor of GHLC throughout this upcoming academic year!

Photo courtesy of Victor Lou, http://theliouphotography.com