Hello Case Med,

Welcome back to another year at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and greetings to our newest family members, the M1 class! I hope everyone had a fun and productive summer. Despite struggling through the pain of readjusting to the academic grind, the fun doesn't have to end just because the break has. There are plenty of events and activities happening in the near future to take your attention off the books for a little while.

First, the Wilderness Medicine Interest Group is again organizing the the CaseMed Whitewater Camping and Rafting Trip. For newly matriculated students and returning students alike, I highly recommend that you sign up. Listen M1s: Students who've attended in the past would attest that there is no better time and place to connect with each other and upperclassmen. Even if you are not an outdoorsy person, I guarantee it will be the highlight of your year.

Second, look out for information on the the End of Block 1/ Start of Block 5 party which will be released soon by our social chairs Sydney Yee and Anand Kaul. If you cannot make it out for camping and rafting, this will be a more traditional affair with no trees or bugs involved. For more ways to get involved and be social, be sure to attend the activities fair on August 21, from 1-3pm.

Third, at Case we are never short of volunteering opportunities. On Friday, October 4th, from 12-5pm there will be a free community health fair at Adelbert Gym as part of "Case for Community Day." Supervising physician Dr. George Kikano (who has a reputation of being awesome with students and ultrafantastical all around) would like to know if up to 20 students from the SOM are interested in volunteering for this event. Students will assist physicians and nurses with health screenings including blood pressure, glucose, cholesterol, dental, HIV testing, and more. It's a great opportunity to gain clinical experience while helping the community. Andrea Lui, M2 is coordinating volunteers on behalf of the Urban Health Pathway--email her at andrea.lui@case.edu if interested. M1s, you are medical students now. This includes you!

Finally, I'm sure that everyone is aware that CWRU SOM is building a new medical school set to open in 2016. What everyone may not know is that the faculty and staff here at Case are looking for YOUR ideas and opinions on the final designs of the school! What do you wish this building had? More windows? More outlets? Smart boards? Your Vice President Nischay Rege and I will be sending out details on how to submit your ideas soon. Everyone is also invited to an open discussion with Dean Pamela Davis on Friday, August 23 at 12pm in E401. All students of any class are encouraged to share their thoughts. Your contributions will benefit generations of future students to come.

That's all for now.