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Kickin' It with the Executive Team
73 Plays7 months ago
Welcome to our new SNMA Presents: The Lounge podcast series: Kickin’ It in The Lounge! In this brand new programming, we shine a light on the inspiring individuals and organizations affiliated with the Student National Medical Association. Join our host extraordinaire, Jared Jeffrey, as he dives into lively conversations that blend learning with laughter. Each episode offers a unique opportunity to hear personal stories, explore important issues in medicine and healthcare, and get to know the amazing people behind the SNMA community. Whether you're a medical student, healthcare professional, or just curious about the journey to becoming a doctor, this podcast is your go-to for real talk, inspiration, and a bit of fun along the way. Tune in for conversations that educate, uplift, and entertain!
In our very first episode, our conversation is held with the wonderful student doctors on the SNMA Executive team. We gain more insight into what inspired them to be involved in SNMA leadership, what others may not know about them at first glance, and how they maintain their mental health while juggling multiple responsibilities. We’re excited to share such an invaluable and fun discussion, and encourage you all to tune in!
Be sure to continue to stay tuned for more of our upcoming programming being released here on The Lounge!
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Transcript
Introduction to 'Kicking It In The Lounge'
00:00:02
Speaker
Hello, everybody, and welcome to Kicking It In The Lounge. Kicking It In The Lounge will be a lighthearted and conversational podcast where we dive into the world of the Student National Medical Association. Each episode features in-depth interviews with individuals and organizations affiliated with the SNMA, offering a blend of professional insights and personal stories.
Meet the SNMA Board
00:00:24
Speaker
Join us today as we explore the responsibilities of our SNMA board members, learn about their roles, and get to know them beyond their professional capacities. You may know me from the lounge. My name is Jared Jeffery, and I have the pleasure today of being joined by three of SNMA's board. Please introduce yourselves to the people.
00:00:43
Speaker
All right, so I'll go. ah My name is Mike Spencer. I serve as the national treasurer for ah the 2024 2025 administrative year. I'm a third year medical student at Indiana University School of Medicine, which is in Indianapolis, and really excited to be here. I don't know, Jared, if there's other things you want us to say in our intro, but Oh, no, that's perfect. Perfect.
00:01:05
Speaker
I guess I'll go. Hi, everyone. My name is Adaku. I am a fourth year at the University of Highfield, Kentucky. Probably so, Dio. I serve as the national vice president. I am currently in my ERAS application, so things are looking very, very interesting for me. um And I am happy to be here and ready to answer any questions that you guys throw my way.
00:01:31
Speaker
Welcome, welcome. Thank you for being here. And last but not least. All right. um I'm Neat. I am the national pre-medical board member for SNMA. And the unique thing about that position is I'm the one person that's a pre-medical student in the and the board. So I am in my gap years. I am in the process of preparing to apply to medical school. um And yeah, and I'm just ah working. I just work. and work with kids that do a lot of that type of work um currently. And happy to answer any questions you all have.
00:02:08
Speaker
Lovely, lovely, very nice. Well, once again, thank you all for being here and let's get right into it. So um I know a lot of, most most of what you guys get seen doing happens behind the scenes, right? You guys handle a lot of the affairs of the p Student National Medical Association and you guys see to it that a lot of things are take place in a smooth fashion. You guys have a lot of initiatives that you do throughout the year.
Roles within SNMA
00:02:34
Speaker
If you could describe your role to the SNMA membership in one sentence, what would that sentence be? Mike, let's start with you. So I'm the national treasurer. And so I think my biggest responsibility is making sure that we ah continue to financially survive as an organization to continue to fulfill the mission of the SNMA. OK, OK, very nice, very nice. um Let's go over to Nia.
00:03:04
Speaker
Um, I think for me, just everything with supporting and ensuring that pre-meds and maps chapters, um, well, pre-meds are supported in their journey to, um, becoming a physician. There's also pre-held students in SNME as well. So pre-held students in their future careers, um, and supporting the maps chapters and their initiatives to support that as well. Lovely. Very nice. Very nice. And Adaku, what about you?
00:03:34
Speaker
Well, VP, so programming, programming, programming. And so for me, that looks like making sure all the committees are pretty much doing what they're supposed to be doing per the national chair and national president's of agenda. So for me, just think of me as the conveyor, making sure that all the different parts are working together.
00:03:58
Speaker
OK, very nice, very nice. And so now I'm going to like leave it open ended. You guys can come in in any ah any order that you want. I feel like we've warmed up to each other just a little bit. So please, one of you, tell me about what motivated you to take on such a largely large leadership role within the SMA and how the journey has been for you thus far.
Motivations for Joining SNMA
00:04:19
Speaker
Oh, I'm going to go with this one. OK.
00:04:22
Speaker
Okay, so for me, what motivated me was I went to predominantly a PwC, right? White college. And I was actually the only black person in my class. And so therefore, because of that, um I felt like maybe there was a lack of understanding slash, slash knowledge on my unique experiences as a medical student. And so for that, I needed a space where I could truly thrive and truly seek support.
00:04:52
Speaker
And I learned about the SNMA and from there I became became a founding member of my school for our local SNMA chapter. went on and served on the regional level for two years. And of course, I got so much from that position, which encouraged me to go onto the national level. So I've really done a stepwise upward rise. Definitely. Definitely. Riding through the ranks. Yeah. And honestly, just learning about the SNMA through its different stages and different unique um I guess Nietzsche's has really been great. So I've been in programming, I've been in operations, you know, with a strategic team. So, you know, it's been great. So that's what motivated me and I'm so happy to serve. I'm gonna send this over to someone else. It's quite the list to follow up on, but let's let's do it.
00:05:43
Speaker
Yeah, I know. I can jump in there. So um I also went to a school where there was probably 3% of students who looked like me and and probably even less who were in medicine, who are trying to pursue a degree in medicine. And so SNMA quickly became a safe space ah for me to be around other people who were really excited to kind of go into the going to medicine. And we could just really be a great ah support system for each other. I've had a lot of mentors and things like that. So estimate I just probably wouldn't be a med school who wasn't for SNMA.
00:06:12
Speaker
period. um And so I'm somebody who took a long gap year. I always like to say it's like a gap decade where I worked before going to med school and really just kept in touch with a lot of people who were within the SNMA mentorship and guidance. And so when I you know got into medical school, I really wanted to give back to the organization that poured into me and continues to point to me as a medical student. So I figured out where would I, where would my, you know,
00:06:39
Speaker
What would my talents, my interests, my skills be the most effective in the organization? And since I do have a history ah in finance, um I decided that I was going to run for this role um and and, you know, have really enjoyed it ever since. So that's kind of why I'm here. In undergrad, I did a variety of different roles. So I was the MAPS president. I was the regional pre-medical board member for our region.
00:07:02
Speaker
And then medical school, I was a regional treasurer and then currently the national treasurer. Very nice, very nice. that why oh ah ah Also climbing the ladder, also climbing through the ranks. Okay, I see you. I'm jealous of all of you. that that may i Yeah, I feel like my story is a little different because um I went to a college where almost everyone was pre-med is like um not even an understatement. I went to Johns Hopkins for undergrad, so you can imagine everyone was pre-med or pre-health. And so because of that, um like right when I came into undergrad, like I like was sucked into SNMA immediately. like Our maps chapter was really strong.
00:07:47
Speaker
um But it had its difficulties for sure. And so I like kind of worked my way up. I was a treasurer for my chapter and then eventually became president um during a difficult time because it was during COVID. And ah what would have been a difficult, like should have been a difficult time actually like allowed us to flourish. Like we had like what, 20 people in our chapter initially. And then um by the end of my senior year, like completing
00:08:18
Speaker
being president. We had over 100 people in our chapter. oh And now it's like we have there's a group chat. I'm sure there's like over 200 300 people in there because my god it's it's crazy because um the virtual environment actually allowed us to grow a lot more.
00:08:33
Speaker
And so and being inspired by that and like how I like allowed our chapter to grow, as like I really wanted to still remain connected in SNMA, so I did the FLP fellowship that introduced me to being what it meant to be a national leader and went through you know a whole leadership project and training to to do that. and then Here I am. Honestly, I think I just want to continue with maps, so I was drawn to the maps committee and I was leading in that capacity. um And here I am now.
00:09:06
Speaker
Very nice, very nice. Okay, so what what I'm getting here is you don't make it to the national board without an
SNMA Board Dynamics
00:09:13
Speaker
impressive resume to go with it. um You guys really, really ah eat, sleep, and breathe. That's an amazing. That's very impressive. Very impressive things from all of you guys. So um I'll pivot a little bit. um You guys are technically all one team. You guys are all one board.
00:09:30
Speaker
What has it been like working together as a team to, you know, carry out your respective roles, carry out the respective, carry out the SMA mission? And could you guys share with me ah maybe something funny or anything like a ah comical moment that's happened while you guys have been on the board thus far? Well.
00:09:49
Speaker
I think, just like you said, to make it to national, most of us, if not all of us, have worked in some capacity outside of national. And so we've actually, some of us have actually met ourselves and some of us have actually worked with us. I am, yeah, I've already worked together before we ever go to the national level.
00:10:10
Speaker
So I think that understanding that we all have different personalities and also having, well, I say the ah previous history with some of ourselves, it makes it a lot easier and funner. I think something that I think is funny is no one can ever get what Mike's role is. We always keep on calling him. I was going to say the same thing.
00:10:33
Speaker
Mr. President, Mr. Chair, everything but treasure. And I'm pretty sure he called himself the Chair today. I think he did. So I think it's funny, and this is not just a me thing, okay? So don't come to me, Mike. Like, a lot of us- Don't worry, Mike. I got you. You you said treasure. I'm here with you. Okay. A lot of us call him everything but treasure. I think that's funny, because he's like, you know, at this point, we should give the organization to Mike, okay?
00:11:05
Speaker
Oh, very nice, very nice. You guys sound like you have a ah really strong dynamic and the fact that you guys... I didn't even think about that. That makes a lot of sense. You know you guys have all worked at perhaps the regional level, the maps level, and SNMA is so intertwined, you're going to run into these people at some point or another. So it makes sense that you guys have a bit of camaraderie built up already. I can just imagine what those meetings are like. That sounds like a lot of fun.
00:11:30
Speaker
Well, one of the things, oh, I'm sorry, Jared, go ahead. No, come through, come through. I was going to say, one of the things that you learn when you're in the national board is that estimate is like an organization. You know, we have like a legal responsibility. And I think it's a little bit different from when we were in like maps and when we were at our, ah you know, our chapter level is that we are like legally responsible for the organization. And I think that that kind of comes into our meetings where a lot of us are learning what that actually means. It's a little bit different from being a part of a club.
00:11:56
Speaker
And so I think that was one of the biggest learning curves I think that all of us had to go through is how do we now function as like a living, breathing board of directors who are legally responsible for the decisions of the organization compared to, you know, we were under the school and we could have a little bit more fun. ah ah we We have serious meetings because they're very important, but we also try to have a lot of laughter as well.
00:12:17
Speaker
so Yeah, I remember back when um I was in my maps chapter, we used to just get a lot of our ideas from our advisor, you know, when we wanted to pick a direction. Oh, yeah, advise oh yeah you guys should do this. Oh, yeah, advise you guys should do that. Oh, you guys can't do that. And, you know, it kind of kept it kept us real, you know, under control that way. Now at this level, you guys kind of have to navigate those those pitfalls yourselves, you know.
00:12:40
Speaker
yeah Yeah, yeah, yeah, really interesting, really interesting. It's a little scary just knowing that, you know, at any point in time, you know, legally, through the government or any agency, you know, your signature actually carries weight, right? So yeah, we're in this like, weird space where we're, yeah, we're medical students, but we're also board of director members, and our votes count as signatures mean stuff, and we can't just like, mess around.
00:13:07
Speaker
So it's important work. It's just we also have fun while doing it. Definitely. and i And I feel like that echoes the um the energy of the SNMA, right?
Personal Insights and Backgrounds
00:13:18
Speaker
Becoming a doctor is important work, but you all all work and no play makes for a very burnt out doctor, you know? So we're always going to try to slide the fun in somewhere. We're always going to try to slide some kind of enjoyment into what might need to be, what feels like a meeting that's always you know longer than it should be or something like that.
00:13:39
Speaker
Yeah, we know. We know. Are we familiar with that? Yes. Oh, sorry. Sorry. I didn't mean to trigger anybody. but ah man oh So let's pivot just a little bit. um Let's get to know you guys, the people behind the roles now, just a little bit more. So and you know, no particular order with this one. What is one thing that people would be surprised to learn about you?
00:14:13
Speaker
I think one of the things I think people will be surprised is I did Brazilian jiu-jitsu before coming to med school. And you know, everyone thinks I'm so nice and so kind. I would never want to get into a combat sport. So I know that's surprising at that point. Yeah. But yeah, I did that prior to coming to med school and have not done that. Did you get novice, intermediate, advanced? How far up the top goal did you go? Okay. Okay. Got you. Got you. Okay.
00:14:43
Speaker
Not bad, not bad. Brazilian jujitsu, wow. Yeah.
00:14:51
Speaker
And I love reality TV. Nice. um I guess I think i something people will be surprised to hear about me. We'll have to dig deep for this one. I share a lot.
00:15:09
Speaker
I would say a lot of people don't know I'm an IMS, which is different from an IMG. I'm an international medical student, which just means I'm not American. oh And so for us, I call us the unicorns of medical school. We're very, very few, because not many medical schools accept us, and the ones who do alike.
00:15:32
Speaker
barely there and so my journey to medical school was actually a little difficult and a little different because there are a lot of legal groups and immigration groups of course you have to go through and a lot of rules that apply to you that may not apply to your other counterparts so for me medical school was like okay yeah I have to do all the things every medical student has to do in addition to other things I had to do as well so I think that was I think that kind of builds my love for the SMM because that was really a safe space, a place where I could really rest. So I think being on IMS is amazing because I understand the struggles of all my IMGs. And so therefore, it's it's it helps you program in when we're thinking about who all we serve as an organization.
00:16:26
Speaker
That is amazing to know that we have that kind of perspective at the national level. I would have never guessed. Wow. Wow. I won't i won't pry too much today because you know we're keeping the conversation lighthearted. But I would definitely love to know more about the steps and the process of what it takes as an international medical student. That would be a really interesting conversation. I think so.
00:16:50
Speaker
Absolutely. Absolutely. I might have to have you back on here.
00:16:56
Speaker
Nyat, what about you? I've been sitting here the whole time trying to think of something. I feel like I'm an open book. I don't know. okay so ah So I'll say consider something that maybe the members listening would be surprised to to know and maybe something that these guys might already know.
00:17:15
Speaker
So I do speak another language, Tigrinya. My background, I'm Eritrean, so um I'm not sure if everyone knows that. Maybe they could tell that just by looking at my name. But I am Eritrean, I'm proudly Eritrean.
00:17:33
Speaker
and um I do um teach my students at church um how to so like singing um with like with my native art, like my native language. So I do I love singing and I i love um working with kids and um like my heritage, religion, all that. So all that combined, it just like singing and teaching like the kids I in my within my culture and community. I love doing that. So maybe that's something that a doc and Mike might not know, though. I was gonna say I didn't know this.
00:18:12
Speaker
Thank you. but You did great. and And look at us. Check it out. Kicking it in the lounge, getting you guys closer together. And that's what ah that's what it's all about for real. Everybody in the SNMA feeling a little bit closer, a little bit connected. And even though you guys are serving at a very high level, we still want our members at large to know that nobody knows what Mike's job is. And so now, whenever he's walking around his campus, people go, hey, chairperson Mike. I'm sorry, Mike. I'm sorry. Nobody's ever going to call you treasure again. I apologize.
00:18:44
Speaker
let's just keep Let's just keep chugging along with the interview, why not? um So all of you guys have had such different roads to get to the current stage that you're at, right?
Leadership and Personal Growth
00:18:54
Speaker
All of you national national leaders, um some of you national leaders, more than one year, more than one capacity, things of that nature. Is there a personal experience that's happened along your journey that has shaped your approach to leadership?
00:19:10
Speaker
Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I think that that if there's been a particular experience in how leadership, I do think my orientation is service. That's a core value that I have is like, how can I serve others? And so, you know, you know, I think that goes a little bit to my religious, my spiritual kind of upbringing about how can I use kind of the experiences I have to serve others. And that's why I'm in. That's why I do serve in leadership for SNMA. As you know, like being a part of the national board is a lot of time.
00:19:38
Speaker
a lot of times we sacrifice from school, a lot of times we sacrifice from our loved ones. We don't do it just, and we don't get paid, right? So you don't do it just for fun. You're doing it because you truly love the organization and you truly want to make sure that other students have the opportunity to benefit from all the, what the organization has to offer. So I think, I don't know if there's been a,
00:19:56
Speaker
ah particular particular experience, but I do think kind of how I orient to leadership is that how do I serve others and how do I make, you know, even when I'm working with the doc who and the odd on their perspective roles, a lot of things go through finance. I'm like, how do I make sure that they're, they can do their job and and do their role effectively so that they can support the organization. I think it's something think about. So yeah, it sounds like rather than being any one single experience is more of a combination of your experience. Yeah. yeah
00:20:23
Speaker
Yeah, I kind of to feel like I echo Mike's experience it as well. I feel like a lot of people, when I tell them what I do, they don't understand. They're like, why would you do all of that work for something that's not paid? and it's like it's it's so Because I know that i with like with I have something to bring to SNMA, and i I can try and better like things for like pre-med students and pre-health students from my own personal experience, from other people's experiences that they've shared with me. um And that that's, I think, that the major driving force for like everything I do. I just really want to support and serve other students that are just like me. Very nice. Very nice. I mean, how what about you? Follow all of that up.
00:21:18
Speaker
um I echo everyone's sentiment about it being a whole bunch of different things. But I also say don't like my upbringing also plays a large part because I'm from a family of people who lead or who are leaders in their own right. And so um there was a lot of emphasis placed on you know serving people growing up, a lot of emphasis placed on if you can do it, why wouldn't you? a lot of emphasis placed on, you know, if you're in a position to be helpful to someone or in a position to make someone's life easier.
00:21:56
Speaker
you know, you should probably do it. And so, yeah, as a kid, I felt like, you know, doing instilling things in me, but now as an adult, I cannot see the benefit because if someone else didn't, you know, pour into me, I wouldn't be who I am today. And so therefore, I feel it's a privilege to point to other people and make sure that their journeys are just a little bit easier, whatever that looks like for them.
00:22:26
Speaker
Very nice, very nice. Thank you guys for that. it it And, you know, once again, it just sounds like you guys are echoing similar sentiments that I've heard when people talk about the decision to go into medicine overall, right? Like you go into medicine to serve, you go into medicine to lead, and you're trying to build both of those skills through these grandiose positions that you guys have atop the SNMA. Very nice, very impressive. um And I think we'll close out on a little bit of a lighter note.
00:22:57
Speaker
We know that it's stressful to be in the SNMA at the chapter level or serving on a board. We know that it's stressful to be in the SNMA at the regional level serving on the board. So we, I can imagine that it must be stressful serving at the SNMA on the national level.
De-stressing Methods
00:23:14
Speaker
What is your go-to stress reliever when your responsibilities are taken care of, your tests are handled, how do you guys choose to de-stress?
00:23:28
Speaker
I think for me, it depends on the day. um But it's like a whole bunch of different things. For me, being around family and friends is a form of stress reliever, you know, traveling. Now the board members know that Adako will travel even in two days. Okay. That's true.
00:23:47
Speaker
i I like that. um Or like just playing games or having a game night with friends. I think there's a bunch of different things I do. Maybe if I'm feeling great, you know, trying to be healthy, I'll go on a walk, go go lift some weights, you know, everyone take care of your health.
00:24:08
Speaker
we I know that's great. I think that I try to do self-care intermittently. so i don't you know I always say, what are those non-negotiables that you have to have every single day? um so i you know There's two people I got talked to with every day.
00:24:27
Speaker
um You know, one of those include my grandmother, you know, and so, you know, I got to talk to her every day. um And so I think just making sure that I'm still doing that. I got to work out most days. I need to eat. I have to sleep. And I'm someone who really requires sleep. There's a lot of things that I will sacrifice, but eating and sleeping are not two of them. I know some people admit to me.
00:24:48
Speaker
And people are like, Oh, I didn't even eat lunch. They're like, I'm going to eat lunch. And I'm going to have a book in one hand. I'm going to have a sandwich in the other. I know what you're talking about. You do not want to see me without food. So I try to always do that. And I think just keep an organized. I'm not the best at.
00:25:07
Speaker
relaxing and de-stress. I'm always feeling like what I need to do. So that's still, I feel like if people struggle with that, they're probably always going to struggle with that. It's when you're so busy, but I try to feel like, how do I build in habits every day to prevent me from getting super overwhelmed? I like that. I like that. You you don't do like a big de-stress, but you definitely make you time yeah within this busy schedule. that I would say that. I would say that that's a form of quote unquote stress relief right there. Make it time for me. I like that.
00:25:37
Speaker
I feel like for me, it's a lot of different things, as everyone mentioned. Singing is one. Sometimes I'll just be singing out of nowhere. um And so there's that. um I also love to write. Whenever I have like a lot on my mind, I just like just just write it all out. And for some reason, seeing what I'm thinking on paper helps me understand and figure out what I'm trying to do better. So writing helps.
00:26:09
Speaker
um And my just, you know, faith, church, all of that, my religion, um that also always is like number one. So that always also helps.
00:26:26
Speaker
Okay. I might actually have to steal a couple of these from you guys. You guys have some pretty good stress relief tips. Um, but I think I'm going to thank you guys for your time. I'm not going to keep you from, from doing the work of the SNMA any longer.
Open Invitation for Support
00:26:40
Speaker
I appreciate the three of you for kicking it in the lounge with me. You want to introduce yourself with the people one more time. Yeah, go ahead Mike.
00:26:49
Speaker
mic Okay, I'm Adaku, Vice President. So if you guys have any programming needs, your chapter is struggling, just reach out. I usually respond within three days, but if I don't, forgive me.
00:27:08
Speaker
Awesome. I'm Mike Spencer. I am the national treasurer and happy to help if anybody has- What was that position? I missed it. National treasurer. There we go. Thank you. Thank you. And happy to help any way that I can if anyone's interested or wants to learn more about the role or um how I can be a resource in general.
00:27:29
Speaker
Very nice. And I'm Neot. I am the national pre-medical board member. I don't think I mentioned this earlier, but I'm also the chairperson of the MAPS committee. It's kind of like two positions in one. um And anything related to MAPS chapters, pre-med students, pre-health students, um I'm here. That's what I'm here for. So any type of support with that, I'm just an email away.
00:28:00
Speaker
Cool, cool. So thank you guys so much for coming through to kick it with me in the lounge today. Make sure you follow the SNMA on all social media platforms. And thank you guys for coming for our inaugural episode, I should say, of kicking it in the lounge. I'll see you all next time. Have a great one, SNMA.
00:28:20
Speaker
i Bye, Bye. Bye.