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AMEC 2026! What'd We Think?
26 Plays1 day ago
The Lounge is Back! Join us following our post-AMEC break and find out what our hosts Dr. Isabella Ntigbu, MD and Dr. Aldwin Soumare, DO thoughts were regarding the conference this year, as well as touch on other updates that affected the medical community overall. Our hosts also sit down with the winners of our AMEC event "Meet me at the Villa" and find out the updates on the connection they made. You definitely don't want to miss this episode!
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Disclaimer: The opinions and views expressed on our podcast do not reflect the official stance of the Student National Medical Association.
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Transcript
The Lounge Podcast Expansion
00:00:00
Speaker
The views expressed on this podcast represent only those of the hosts and do not represent the views of the Student National Medical Association. Calling all creatives. SNMA Presents The Lounge podcast is expanding and we want you on our team.
00:00:14
Speaker
Currently, our open roles include having the chance to manage affairs like sponsorships and advertisements, content production, talent management, programming administration, and so much more. If being a part of a medical podcast that highlights the narratives and discussions of underrepresented minorities sounds exciting to you, click on the link in the description box below.
00:00:32
Speaker
We'd love to have you join our podcast family. Now, let's start the show.
Spring Season Highlights with Dr. Samari
00:00:56
Speaker
Hey, welcome to SNMA Presents The Lounge. Whether you're in the student lounge, doctor's lounge, or lounging around at home, get ready to join SNMA for meaningful conversations on topics affecting minorities in medicine and groups that often sit at the margins of healthcare. care What's up, everybody? What's poppin'?
00:01:15
Speaker
My name is Dr. Samari, Dr. Aldrin Samari. Now that we are fully in spring season, we know you are all are looking forward to being outside, outside. Yeah.
00:01:29
Speaker
So i wanted to ask you guys, what are you looking forward to as the weather is getting warmer? I can start. My first thing is, as the weather's getting warmer, man, Sacramento, that rainy season is crazy. If you've ever lived in Sacramento in the winters, it's raining for 20, 30, 40, 50 days straight.
00:01:45
Speaker
And I was not getting no vitamin D. I was hypovitamin diagnosis. You feel me? out Yeah, the sun was like, yo, sun, where you at, Shreddy? But now the sun is coming out. There's some great festivities and activities that are coming around. The American Psychiatric Association Conference is going to be in San Francisco, which is two hours away in two weeks from now. And my residency program is paying for some of us to be able to go. that's I'm covering my hotel. Also, there are so a lot of Juneteenth festivals that's going to be popping up.
00:02:14
Speaker
I'm also doing an event with my residency program, or ah the Black Resident Organization that I'm going to be hosting as well. So the Opportunity Network to galvanize beautiful black people in these beautiful black spaces. I'm going to run it all the way up. hey I love it. What's popping off?
00:02:33
Speaker
Yeah.
Balancing ICU Work and Spring Fun with Dr. Isabella
00:02:34
Speaker
Well, what's going on, everybody? My name is Dr. Isabella. um And spring is actually one of my favorite seasons, like right next to fall. I feel like I love fall and spring kind of equally. um And, you know, I'm a homebody, but I definitely will say that I'm definitely trying to be outside for real, for real. I get out of the ICU trenches. I'm currently the ICU trenches. I'm in trauma ICU and, um, hours have been long, uh, managing a lot of patients.
00:03:04
Speaker
And so like definitely making me appreciative of like having kind of time outside of the hospital for sure. yeah. I will say like, be like kind of living where I'm in, I'm in the new England area and it's actually really nice here. When the weather starts getting warmer, there's a lot of things to do. Like there's beaches nearby. ah people just kind of really start hosting more summary spring type of events. Um, just people kind of are looking forward to better weather. As you've said, being in Sacramento where it's more rainy, like people are looking forward to the clouds parting after it's snowing for 40 days and 40 nights. And that's a under, that's an understatement, right? Cause we got way more, longer of a winter this year.
00:03:44
Speaker
So I will say like just the, everyone is just excited to experience that warmer weather. And I think because of that, the opera, the events, opportunities, kind of just things to do is going to be a lot more. So I'm going to be tapped in as much as I can, even though, like I said, I am a homebody, but When the weather gets warmer, I definitely want to branch out a little bit more socially and kind of just see what's out there. We know what type of time you be on, Izzy. You know the vibe. She's it and out. I know you. We're going to get a little bit more into that too in this episode. So... Great answers from us. And let's let's get right into it. You guys know what time it is. OK.
AMEC 2026 Conference Recap
00:04:31
Speaker
To run the list. So running the patient lists on the wards allows the team to address pressing matters of the day. In this segment of the show, we'll be discussing some recent events in medicine and beyond affecting our communities and the populations we serve.
00:04:44
Speaker
So I'm sure everybody wants to know what the elephant in the room is a Mac 2026 recap from X and may presents the lounge podcast. so there was three of us actually there in terms of hosts.
00:04:55
Speaker
Unfortunately, um Jared, our trusted hosts, he had an emergency, so he couldn't make it out for this recording tonight, but you know, we're going to hold it down. We're going to hold down the force and make sure you guys have a good idea of how we felt. A Mac went kind of some of the highlights recap of our events and just like our general experiences so i mean i can start with highlights for me and then you know all you feel free to jump in with your highlights but i think what was cool about this amec was this was my first amec as a resident physician so you know prior to that i was a med student so just that little upgrade was nice like attending the sessions that were more c centered on things that affect residents and feeling like it's a lot more applicable to me at this point um just kind of like basking in that was really cool.
00:05:37
Speaker
Um, I will say maybe some other things too. It's always nice to reconnect with people that you've seen at prior Amex. that was really nice to kind of see familiar faces. Cause some of you know who's going to pop out. So it's nice to kind of just like see people I had seen at prior Amex or maybe just, just in general in life, um, within the medical community and kind of getting to see them back in the space. I saw a lot of people who, um,
00:05:57
Speaker
ah like we're new med students this year that I have known for a while. um and like now seeing them be M1s and kind of like coming to me for the first time. I know how much that was exciting for them. So kind of getting to see them in that element was really cool.
00:06:09
Speaker
Um, yeah, I mean, I enjoyed it. I mean, I will say to some of the, I won't say the night events because personally for me, like I said, me, I was at, I was in my hotel room. Okay. Like I came out for the little, little cute one, two pre games. And then I took myself right back to the hotel room. Yo, cash in the cap, bro. Y'all got cap? Nah, I'm playing. Nah, I'm playing. you know that Aldi though. You know that. Like I literally said, yeah, I'm not going out. Like it's so funny too. Cause people were saying like, Oh, it's like, you're going out to this thing, that thing, you know, i'm not going to name specifically the events right that I, you know, that, uh, were of discussion at AMEC and people were trying to be outside for, but people did ask me like, Oh, are you pulling up to this thing? And I was like, no, like it was for me from the beginning, I knew I was not pulling up to nothing. Like that was outside of the four walls of the hotel at AMEC.
00:06:59
Speaker
Yeah. Just because, i like I've also just wanted rest. like I feel like you being a resident, I really prioritize my rest. You know what trying to say? I respect it.
00:07:11
Speaker
Yeah, that same energy I had maybe even as like a younger, like a more junior med student or as an undergrad. I don't have that same energy when it comes to, oh, let me pop out, let me wear, you know, like I don't have the energy no more. It's like, I just want to chill. I just want to like kick it with people, like get to have some nice discussions and then just like chill. So I really wasn't coming on that type of time. And I also feel like the location this year wasn't really giving me like, oh, let me be outside for real. was just giving me like, let's let's kick back, you know, enjoy ourselves and just like you experience another cool AMEC. But I i kind of knew from early on, I wasn't really going to do everything, but that was kind of my experience. Um, generally, what about you? Well, how, how do you feel? I mean, I love that. I flew in, I did an overnight flight, flew in and, um,
00:07:51
Speaker
end up meeting an anesthesia resident in at Indiana University. We took the bus down. It's like a 40-minute ride, $2.75. For all those that don't know, anytime that you fly in a new city, try to find that public transportation versus taking a $50, $60 Uber ride.
00:08:07
Speaker
You know what saying? And it was worth it because I got to see the city, the ambience, the scenery. yeah And then I tapped into a first year at Morehouse School of Medicine and this guy in him, mentor him that wants to do dermatology. So I'm saying, let's say from the get-go, it was like so much love that was starting off networking. And it's that that's the experience that brings me to AMEC each and every year is that opportunity to mentor, experience mentorship. Like we ran into Dr. Darko, if y'all don't know yeah who. Yeah. You know, one of the most prolific medical medical podcasts with her husband yeah as well. Yeah.
00:08:41
Speaker
Knocks outside the box and we had dinner with her and we was getting mentorship, like receiving guidance from her. You know, those events where it's like, yo, it's just sporadic. And it's like, yo, let's pop out and see what's up. That was the beautiful thing. Another highlight for me was like you said, like seeing people I hadn't seen in years, like one of my homies, we ah did a summer medical ah dental education program together in 2011. Oh, Dating myself back in New Jersey med school. Now you're attending pediatrician.
00:09:08
Speaker
And I was really dope. And it's like, yo, what's poppin'? haven't seen you like five, six years, bro. Like, where you doing that? You know, it's like you find your family. You know what I mean? And then on top of that, now being a resident is super dope.
00:09:20
Speaker
um yeah I didn't realize how tired I would be speaking to so many students coming to the table. That journey was work. because you Shout out to them. I love my residency program. They paid for me to get out there. They gave me ah they gave me a band to go out there. and um I love it. ah I was the only resident that went. you know mean and There was another representative, but she's on the GME side. so i was kind of like,
00:09:44
Speaker
or overtaking like ah questions that people had about residency, residency programs. And um in the midst of that, i was realizing, yo, I need to get more tapped into other residency programs. And realized my passion for speaking about being a resident, speaking about being in medicine, speaking about inspiring the next generation, speaking about the capabilities that a lot of us can endure and engage in when we get to this level. So I was like so thankful and grateful, despite me being super exhausted, super tired for my night flight. And then on top of that, coming in three hours, the three hour difference from Cali to ah Pittsburgh. It was crazy. It was messing me up all the way, but it was all the way worth it, you know?
AMEC Event Highlights: Networking in Action
00:10:27
Speaker
Right. Right. being able to see y'all too, like in the environment, like where we started so many moons ago. This is my seventh or eighth AMEC that I've been to.
00:10:36
Speaker
And we started off with the pod. We started off like doing so much great things and now seeing how it's flourishing. I mean, I'm grateful, you know? And yeah yeah I think that, you know, the the momentum is only going to keep going all the way up because all the way up next year is going to be Vegas 2027. What are you looking forward to in Vegas?
00:10:59
Speaker
I know. I know. Well, before we even get to Vegas, I definitely want to like highlight you saying like getting to be with the podcast that... That part, I think definitely can't be missed. And even before that too, let me, I actually want to comment on seeing Dr. Darko, Renee Darko, like at the dinner. I thought that was so beautiful. Cause like you said, it was so like sporadic. Like we were just sitting down getting dinner, like us three as like co-hosts. And then you just saw like, well, I didn't see her at first, but looks like I think you and Jared maybe peeped that Dr. Darko, like just walked by. And I said, remember I told you, watch, Jared gonna bring her here and she's gonna be a part of this dinner. And lo and behold, that's exactly what happened. And it's just like, it's just so beautiful to just think about how the relationship formed, right? Through being a part of this community, through being a part of the SMA community, um having the relationships that we have with the Darkos through even art um joint event that we had, our collaboration that we had a couple years back and where we did the three episodes, like to our OG listeners, I'm sure you guys were tapped into that. We had three episodes that led into that year's AMEC and then we then had a collaborative event
00:12:03
Speaker
event at our AMEC with the dark, the dark, our hosts of their own podcast called docs outside the box. Shout out to them. And so just like kind of getting to fellowship again in that way and just like debrief and just talk about how things have gone since then. I just thought that was so cool, but yeah, getting into like the pod, of course was right. Cause it all starts from the pod and how much we love the pod. Um, we had events this year. Um, in my opinion, you missed out cause it was lit. Um, oh guys, yeah I got to pull up next year. Stop playing with it.
00:12:33
Speaker
I'm screaming and we're going to include the snippets or I'll actually, I'll say the full interview of our conversation with two of our winners from one of our events at the end of this episode. So make sure you stay tapped in to the end. if You want to hear the experiences of two of our winners from um our first events of the conference, which was meet me at the Villa.
00:12:54
Speaker
We had it Thursday night. And from my experience, I thought it was really nice because we were trying to do something where we're, where we were hoping to connect people. in the estimate community in a, you know, more romantic way. But if it didn't turn out that way, it's still fine because you still kind of got that connection, right? A connection is connection. That's a So I think it was really cool that we kind of laid that foundation. We made it Love Island style because that's what's been popular this past year with everybody kind of tapped into Love Island. so we kind of made Love Island style. And then we put a lot of young medical professionals or budding medical professionals um in a room and got to allow them to build these meaningful connections. And we did it in a way that was fun. We did in a way that was creative and I had a great time.
00:13:36
Speaker
um So that was really cool to look forward to. What was your thoughts about ah Meet Me at the Villa? I thought it was dope. It was engaging. You know, we put in a lot of work to get people to come out, you know, honestly. And it was great that initially it wasn't popping, but then things built, people spread the energy and share the love about event. And people enjoyed the People were laughing. People were participating. people Some people wanted to be up there. They realized like, nah,
00:14:01
Speaker
It's at this point that I messed up in my life. I should have been up there. You know, you could have found your buddy, your hubby. So people were developing these connections that otherwise i don't think they may have been able to because we, you know, I think it was over like 25, 2,600 people that attended AMEC overall. So to have that special space for everybody to really learn about each other, I think it's something powerful. And I definitely look forward to next year seeing what's going to happen. And y'all better stay tuned because we're going to get bigger and greater and greater okay and don't forget we also had one more event we had our pop the balloon session which there was actually a lot of confusion with the pop the balloon session i think everybody was thinking was going to be like last year where we put a couple people out there on the podium you know we have them kind of put themselves on display and the men versus the women kind of see who are they compatible with who whose balloon we want to pop It was kind of a show last year, right? But this year, were kind of sticking with that theme of wanting to keep things more connection-based, right? Trying to actually build meaningful connections. And so if you pulled up, we hope that you actually got something out of that event. You know, maybe you didn't get the mess that you were looking for, but hopefully you came out with one or two new connections that you actually can sustain even after you left AMEX. So that was our goal. We're all about community. We're all about connections at the podcast. And we hope that we got to achieve that with some of y'all. But I think like you said, Aldrin, sorry, what were you going to say? No, go ahead.
00:15:27
Speaker
No, no, you're good because you were you were about to you out land. i I know you're about to land. I ain't going lie. It was so funny with the Pop the Balloon event when it was packed out. Guys, like if y'all wasn't there, it was one of those events where you had to be there because... it became standing room only. was like, you know, when it's saying like ah occupancy up to 250 people in the room, it was like over, it was like 300 in there.
00:15:53
Speaker
People were just following in trying to figure out the space, you know I mean? And then when we told them the concept, people just like, oh, like they was dipping. You know what mean? yeah cool Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Y'all didn't stay for the real moments that we built during that experience. And a lot of people that were there cherished it, cherished the concept because it was different. They didn't anticipate that it was to be outside of dating, right? Because i remember one of the there were two women that were there. was like, i think I found a sister for life. You know It's something so much cool in those intimate moments, like connecting, asking questions. I think that's what AMEC is about. That's the power of AMEC. With that being said, I thought that it was great because didn't, honestly, y'all surprised me too in terms of how powerful the event was. was like, nah, they're not going rock with it. But people really rock with it and they made lifelong connections.
00:16:41
Speaker
Yep. Yep. No, it was great to witness. And I really do think, even though we may not know every single connection that was made, I think we made, we helped to facilitate more than we think we were able to. And so that really, to me was the goal of everything that we, we put into trying to make these events come to life. So I'm, I'm really grateful and and proud of what we've done. And hopefully wink, wink Vegas, 20, 27 y'all come correct. Cause we come in full throttle now.
00:17:10
Speaker
I feel like but I feel like everybody is anticipating Vegas real heavy because of course it's Vegas it's a known party city vacation spot like people pull up to Vegas so I feel like I have a lot that I'm looking forward to a Vegas primarily of course with the podcast I think we're going to be able to really do a lot in terms of our events just given the environment and i think we could really do a great job of kind of furthering that goal of helping people connect with each other and just like letting you guys know what we're about because a lot of times some of you guys only been listening to us who never actually saw us like be out there live and really kind of know our personalities and so hopefully we can do more of that next year as well i mean what are you looking forward to in vegas all the west coast listen
00:17:56
Speaker
listen sin Can I hear it? Listen. Can I hear it? I'm looking forward to not having to do multiple trips, multiple stoppages just to get to the East Coast. Looking forward to being in the same time zone because Vegas is like a one-hour flight from Sacramento. So we're going to be straight zip right there. I'm looking forward to really being in the ambiance of Vegas itself. Like,
00:18:22
Speaker
yeah You know how powerful that's going be? Like seeing so many med students in white coats on Las Vegas Boulevard. And you know, Vegas already has this certain thought and perception, but the fact that they're going to see something they never felt or heard or tapped into, that's going to be something magnificent. So I'm really looking forward to like really feeling that the spirit of SMA in a city that has not experienced SMA in quite a while. I don't even think they've been in Vegas. if i'm Yeah. At least not since I've been like around since 2014. Me neither. Right. a hundred percent. Because I've been different.
00:18:59
Speaker
uhuh Yeah. This is my, this was my sixth AMEC. And yeah, we have not touched down in Vegas at all within the six AMECs. And I would say, I don't think this location has gotten as much buzz probably since like Orlando or New Orleans, potentially. I think it might be the buzz is going to be higher than all of them cities I think so too I think so too I'm there already like shout out to my residency I love y'all I love it Me too. They're going to give me the bread. They're going to let me be out there. Oh, yeah. And that's on Right. And that's on P. I'm on the same wavelength too. My residency also funded my time this past AMAC as well. I worked the booth. I love my residency program. And so I'm really happy that, you know, have the opportunity because one, I love SMA. And so getting to like,
00:19:47
Speaker
be a part of SMA, then also get to promote my residency program. And then like having the benefit of them supporting my time there financially is like a, is definitely added bonus. So super grateful
Dr. Iggy's Career Shift: Medicine to Content Creation
00:19:56
Speaker
for that. But yeah, we're outside AMEC 2027 in Vegas is a vibe. Yeah.
00:20:01
Speaker
yeah Yeah. I love, I love that for us. And, uh, hopefully, you know, y'all gonna pull up, please pull up and come see us, come to our events and come support. With that being said, speaking of love, you know there's a lot going on that I'm appreciating and love about what's going on in social media. the opportunity for a lot of people in the medical world to be transparent like myself. I've been transparent about my journey and the challenges being in multiple different residencies, getting to my field of interest and passion in psychiatry.
00:20:33
Speaker
And we recently... saw that Dr. Iggy and if you don't know who dr iggy is and what he just recently spoke about you've been under a rock roll let me put yeah up to game yeah i mean dr iggy is actually someone who was on our podcast about a year ago. Me and jared spoke to him on Kicking On a Lounge, by the way, so make sure tap into that episode.
00:20:54
Speaker
but with that being said dr ge is a orthopedic spine surgeon who recently went on social media and stated to the world that he is taking a break from medicine to pursue his passion in pre-med coaching and as well as creating a social media content.
00:21:11
Speaker
If you listen to our podcast in the past with him interviewing him he spoke about the challenges of being in social media and being a residency, being the target, and um that affecting his trajectory in some shape or form.
00:21:24
Speaker
And there's been an incredible level of backlash from from the meetup from the community in terms of him coming out, right? People talk about the fact that we invest so much time, right?
00:21:36
Speaker
The average amount of debt that a medical student acquires after graduating medical school is about 210K. So we have a lot of delayed gratification. And on top of that, going to orthopedic surgery residency is five years. Then doing spine fellowship is another year.
00:21:51
Speaker
And so with that being said, Dr. Iggy was six months into being an attending and made this decision to change the trajectory of his life. And it's crazy because I did a i did a reel on this and ah somebody commented on Facebook. It was like one of the OG doctors. And he was like, ah ah this is the fifth video i I've seen on this. And I put congrats and I started clapping as a comment, as ah as a clap. Exactly.
00:22:20
Speaker
It's like, whoa, so what if it's the fifth video? Like we are reclaiming our identity and reclaiming our happiness. What is life without pursuing happiness, but without pursuing our And you don't know what that man been through. You never been through his shoes. Yes, you're a tender physician, but you don't know what has transpired in his life to want to make that decision. And I say that from the perspective of somebody who was in a residency program who almost lost their life.
00:22:44
Speaker
And I would have been a number. I would have been a number to them suckers. I would have been nobody. I would have lost my life and and nobody would have been at my at my funeral. nobody none None of them would have been there to support me or encourage my mother through her grieving.
00:22:59
Speaker
Nobody. These institutions, a lot of them don't care about none of that. So when I see a doctor be like, yo, this is what I want to do. This is what I want to accomplish despite what has transpired and despite how y'all feel, I salute that. I salute you, bro.
00:23:14
Speaker
I am inspired by that type of decision-making process. Yes, not everybody will do it, and that's okay. Everybody's different. Not everybody will go through that whole process and be like, yo, I need to take a break. I was even talking to one of my bros out here who ah we'll talk on later, a podcast episode, but he's doing, he going through some stuff a lawsuit with an institution and we'll talk about that. But anyway, he was like, yo, I could not do that. He's an ortho residency. Like, yo, I need, once you graduate ortho residency and you got to get these numbers, you got to complete these certain number of cases in order you to be validated by the board of spine surgery. You got to do that within two years. And if you don't do that within two years, then they not going to validate that joint ever. You know what You, you got to essentially go back and do your fellowship and restart the whole thing. You know, And they got the oral boards. They got all of these different specifics and particulars. I'm like, yo, I hear that.
00:24:10
Speaker
But do you hear? You got also hear like when a man is crying or a man is feeling a type of way about the situations he's in and yeah respect where he's at and where he's trying to get to, regardless of what your thought is and regardless of the fact that you may not do it. That doesn't mean somebody else may not do it. When I left my residency program in neurology, everybody was looking at me crazy. It was like, yo, bro, you left?
00:24:36
Speaker
Nah, keep going. Keep going until what, my God? Like, keep going until I run my head into the wall and start bleeping up? You feel me? I'm sorry. I'll do the way you said it. That's real though. That's real. That's real. That's real. Um, no, I think you raised such a good point. Um, what, what I actually wanted to bring up in regards to this situation, as you said, i was in generally in general,
00:25:03
Speaker
I was just surprised about how wide the controversy spread after Dr. Iggy dropped his statement saying that he wanted to kind of take a break and pursue consecration full time. And I think that's actually what a lot of people miss was him saying, I want to take a break. Like, I think a lot of people heard quit and a lot of people kind of said, oh, he's leaving like medicine. Correct. And he's only been in attending for six months. But if you actually go back to the video, which I'm taking a break. That's the first word. of the first sentences. He said, taking a break. Exactly.
00:25:33
Speaker
um i think and it's it's a montage of different things people may have felt based on what he was stating or proclaiming about his next chapter was basically that everyone felt like well his whole platform has been about medicine and about inspiring these people to go into medicine and so like if it's a break is that still something that is going to be valid?
00:26:00
Speaker
Yeah. His platform valid or P or his followers want to continue or take his word or see him as an inspiration because he's no longer now practicing medicine and that's what they want to do. But I think that's where we go into this pair of social relationships that y'all have to really kind of evaluate. You know what trying to say It's like,
00:26:18
Speaker
at the end of the day, he can be inspiring to you despite what he's currently choosing to do in his life at the time. you know I'm trying to say? Like, it doesn't invalidate all the things he's done in his career thus far. It doesn't invalidate the fact that he still completed residency, fellowship, practice, right? Like all those things still happen. They didn't happen. Hard feel too.
00:26:38
Speaker
Stop playing. And he's been putting out so much content. He's put out so much content about those journeys and they're not off the internet. You can still tap back into those videos where he talks about all of these things that may have been seen as inspiring to his audience or to his listeners or followers. And so I think...
00:26:56
Speaker
a lot of people almost took it as like a direct insult. Like, Oh, like I'm been watching your journey because you are doing what I want to do, or you are in the path that I want to pursue. And now, if you don't do this anymore, is it still true? Like, is it, or should I back like not do this anymore? Because you are taking a break. So that means I got to take a, take a break, but it's like, once again, I need you all to kind of really back up from these parasocial relationships because your life is not Dr. Iggy's life. He has his own path. Right. you're going have your own You know what I'm trying to say? So I think,
00:27:26
Speaker
like you said, there's other things you that you have to think about when it comes to taking a break, particularly when it comes to surgical specialties. Um, and you know, we talked a little bit about, about this actually with dr Darko at dinner where, you know, there's, there's like licensing and all these different things, um, that might also have to be things to consider when you take a break. Unclear about the length of time. I personally, I'm not a surgeon. I'm not in surgical residency.
00:27:49
Speaker
I don't know nothing about that, but I'm sure that if Dr. Iggy felt comfortable saying he's going to take a break, he's probably looked into that himself. I'm assuming. right So, um, yeah, uh, So, and like you said, um he did allude to this in the episode. And once again, I'm going to echo what Aldi said. Like everybody, if you haven't listened to our Kicking the Lounge episode with Dr. Iggy and Aldi and Jared, um great episode where he really does actually just talk about his life, his background, what brought him to medicine, the challenges he faced, you know, how he really got into content creation.
00:28:24
Speaker
And those are things I think that are really important for people to know about. So that way, when you see this video he put out about this new trajectory, you kind of understand it a little bit more because he goes into it kind of in more in depth. So yeah, I mean, i mean, what are you hoping that people take from Dr. Iggy's, I guess, statement about deciding to take a break?
00:28:49
Speaker
I think for me, I think I hope that people ah take away from it hope and the realization that not everything is clear, right? you You have this path. You have this thought about being on the path, the thought about ending or getting to the destination, which is, quote unquote, can be attending orthopedic surgery physician. It could be a psychiatrist for the New York Knicks, whatever the case may be. But sometimes along that path, you can be led into a different dimension of thought and and in experience challenges and experience turmoil that can veer you off into a new passion, a new level of inspiration. You know what mean?
00:29:33
Speaker
Sometimes, unfortunately, I had a homie who... finished residency and, and, and never came to the realization of the accomplishment of being a cardiologist. day I remember him speaking to me about like, going to get into cardiology fellowship. And, and, and, and that resonated with me because at the time I left medicine and he was like, bro, keep going, like keep doing your thing. You know what mean? Right. Right. And, and, and that,
00:29:59
Speaker
that that hurts. you know Just seeing that sometimes you're trying to get to that destination, but because of the pressures of medicine, you're not allowed to take that step away or that step towards something else that may still be able to fulfill your purpose. You know what mean? And people judge you for that and they should not do that, especially all the years he put in.
00:30:22
Speaker
So I hope that anyone that's listening, don't be perturbed or deterred from accomplishing your goal, but realize that in most instances, when you come into this medicine medicine game, like it's not going to be all peachy. It's not going to be all clear. like We all have one specific. Even the dude that's... valid I remember I had ah the dude that was top of my class, bro. like He had two kids that he was raising while in med school. His wife left him and his two kids by himself.
00:30:50
Speaker
So this man was in med school working, taking care his two kids. And you're like, damn. Right. I'm complaining about these a thousand slide. Like he got two under five year old kids that he's still taking care of. Don't tell me nothing, bro, about, you know i mean? Like this is not the path or this is the way it should be. Like, nah, people figure it out and we have to learn to flow with it and accept it and let God lead our way. You know what I mean? And I feel like he tapped into that and I would really respect respect that. Yeah.
00:31:21
Speaker
Yep, yep. No, 100%. I think that that was said really beautifully. And yeah, at the end of the day, everybody had their opinion. We saw everybody's opinion on display. And now it's just about realizing that your opinion is just one piece of the story. And that piece may not even necessarily be true, right? So that fuck i mean everything
Addressing Femicide: Dr. Serena Fairfax's Story
00:31:40
Speaker
is kind of just...
00:31:41
Speaker
by assumption at this point so shout out dr iggy thank you once again for visiting us on the lounge um and sharing your story with us i hope that with this next chapter that you're pursuing that you have all the love peace and happiness that you can find and that's really our our wish to you over here on sma presents the lounge podcast now you know once again about transparency kind of sticking with that theme of really laying it all out on the table and talking about the things that might be hard to hear there's a topic that i want to bring up that has kind of plagued my mind as a black woman and has unfortunately been pretty significant this month which is the topic of femicide um even more specifically
00:32:24
Speaker
done by intimate partners, right? Done within like, um, romantic relationships. And so recently the murder of Dr. Serena Fairfax has taken headlines, um, and really been put on display of a tragic act that was committed by her husband. So just to kind of give,
00:32:42
Speaker
a summary. um This was from WTOP News. um Dr. Serena Fairfax, who was a 49-year-old, esteemed dentist and mother of two, was killed by her husband, former Virginia Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax, in a murder-suicide on April 16, 2026.
00:32:58
Speaker
a tragedy occurred shortly after midnight at their home in Annandale, Virginia, amid a contentious divorce. Police reported that just Justin shot Serena multiple times in the basement for moving to an upstairs bedroom to take his own life. There are two teenage children were inside the home at the time and one called nine one one.
00:33:14
Speaker
and um um You know, reading that really made me realize that black women, really are not even safe within the relationships that they thought were going to protect them. Now, granted, rest in peace to Dr. Serena Fairfax. I'm so sorry that you have suchly short base yeah you essentially married a monster, unfortunately. And I will say that...
00:33:47
Speaker
You know, it it, femicide is something that a lot of people don't necessarily talk about. I don't think it's something that's really a point of conversation or really discussed widely. And I want people to understand that femicide essentially is, um, the, you know, this, this disproportionate killing of black women and girls, particularly, um, the, the statistics saying that black women are twice as likely to be murdered by men compared to white women. And in some age groups, 18 to 45, domestic violence is the leading cause of death for black women.
00:34:16
Speaker
Right. So, and up to 75% of intimate partner homicides occur when a woman attempts to leave or has recently left the relationship as abusers often escalate violence to maintain power and control.
00:34:26
Speaker
So this killing of women, right, this homicide of women and particularly highlighting and within intimate partner relationships, um, Really speaks to the way that women, I feel like, have to really remain vigilant when it comes to the people that we allow in our lives, particularly our romantic partners. And I i would don't even want to make this a black man thing, right? Because it's like, this could really happen with any any partner in any relationship.
00:34:52
Speaker
um But I think that in this case, it was even more... sad because this was a black couple, like a successful black couple by careers, right? She was a dentist, he was a a governor, right? So, and and a lawyer by by by training. So, it's like, this is what you would probably call like an optimal, successful like black couple that people might, would look to as an example. The whole time behind closed doors is this tragic story, you know?
00:35:22
Speaker
And so, I really wanted to highlight that because I think that on the podcast, we bring up hard conversations. We bring up hard things. And this is one of those conversations that I think cannot be ignored because we really have to be mindful of the things that are affecting our communities. Right. And black women are a part of our community and we matter and we deserve accountability on all fronts from people that we maybe look to protect us as well as just people who might not necessarily shine a light on these stories that are actually affecting us on a day-to-day basis. I mean, Aldi, I know as a black man, um I'm sure you have your thoughts about everything, but what's kind of your general, I guess, just shalts of like this story and maybe what it what comes to mind when you hear situation that happened with Dr. Serena Fairfax? Yeah.
00:36:09
Speaker
When I saw this, i i I was at a loss of words, you know, so much pain. You know, I remember a couple of years back when he ran for lieutenant governor and and one them became one the first black lieutenant governors of Virginia. And I was like inspired and encouraged.
00:36:26
Speaker
And then I looked up Dr. Serena Fairfax. She had a thriving dental practice out there. right Her patients loved her, you know, and we know in our community, right? Dentists, doctors, the like we're all tapped in and connected.
00:36:40
Speaker
And to see the matter and manner of what had transpired. I mean, he, he, I mean, even when he killed her, he shot her multiple times in an act of extreme violence. And he texted that to his uncle when he did that. He said, I shot her three times and I don't even know why I just did it. But there was there are indications with the court proceedings because I think it was a Thursday it happened. So they were going to go to court in four days for the divorce ah to occur. And Justin was noted to be more isolative. He had no job. No no one was no longer isolated.
00:37:21
Speaker
really seeking his ah expertise in the field of law because of the controversy that had happened um during his tenure when two women came forward and stated that he sexually assaulted them about like 15, 20 years prior.
00:37:37
Speaker
That ended his career is from there, you know? And since then... He was known to use substances in particular alcohol. He even used money that was, at least from the court proceedings, money that was and um ah going to be used for his kids' ah horseback riding lessons. He used that to purchase alcohol and purchased a gun. And that same gun was used, unfortunately, in Termini and Unalive, Dr. Serena Fairfax, in And so the the the pain and complexity of this, it teaches me that black men, we need to have a level of self-control, a level of understanding. Yes, you are entitled to feel type of way about someone leaving you.
00:38:23
Speaker
You are entitled to feel your emotions. That's important. But how you deal with those emotions, that is your responsibility. That is your responsibility to seek help. That is your responsibility to communicate that you need help. That is your responsibility to be man enough and take accountability for the decisions that you made that potentially affected your marriage.
00:38:46
Speaker
And I think in this scenario, it was a level of cowardice because you unalive your wife and then yourself, And then on top of that, you're leaving two children without parents.
00:38:59
Speaker
Right. And studies show that by having, and this is why for me, when I'm married, there's no guns in the house. Yeah. By having a gun in the house, which is a, and this is why we ask in psychiatry, do you have access to gun? It increases the risk of suicidality.
00:39:16
Speaker
Right. And violence by six times by itself. Right. Right. So the fact that he had access to that gun for so many years, and he was probably contemplating this, right? And then all it takes oftentimes is one stressor, one incidental stressor to push someone over that type. He already was leaning toward that with his behavior. Not having a job, not being able to, ah you know, his wife is estranged from him. His kids estranged from him. he He was living in the same crib, right? The judge ordered him to leave that crib on that Monday,
00:39:51
Speaker
That was like four days after he unalived his wife. he but So where was he going to stay Right? Substance use. Substance use. His mom was even sending him bread, right? In order for him to like have his basic necessities of living. Like as a man, yes, that emasculates you. That makes you feel like you're not nothing. But at the same time, it's like, bro, get a hold of yourself.
00:40:14
Speaker
Don't take it a woman's life away that's making a decision that she thinks is best for her. That was completely wrong. And it's just an unfortunate situation that we don't talk about in the black community. We don't talk about intimate partner violence. And I do want to talk about some statistics as it pertains to intimate ah partner violence, right? So one in three women experience intimate partner violence in America in their lifetime.
00:40:38
Speaker
It's one in six men, Right. And then about one in five women experienced sexual violence from a partner. And over 50% of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former partner.
00:40:51
Speaker
So it says a lot about these interactions, impulsivity, about what happens behind closed scenes. Because for many people, it was like, this is a great couple. They are, do you have a dentist, a politician, but behind closed doors, there was a lot more going on, you know? And he had...
00:41:10
Speaker
precipitating factors, which does not excuse his behavior. And I want to say also to his, um because we noted, I noted that also that his fraternity was in support of him.
00:41:24
Speaker
I don't if you saw that. Are you yeah kidding me Can you imagine? Yeah, I saw that. Yeah, I saw that. And, you know, we're not even going Yeah, because... Be careful, all right? Yeah, exactly. Yeah, like, we're not even going to go there. One thing I don't speak on is I don't speak on Greek life. It has nothing to do with me. And, you know, coming from an HBCU, I understand how that's a very, like, sacred thing to a lot of Black people who are part of those organizations. So, granted, I just say flat out as a blanket statement,
00:41:55
Speaker
if you support more murder, whether you're in a part of this or part of that, yeah, you're, i don't mess with that kind of thinking, um, that kind of logic. So no, I agree with everything you've said and thank you of course for highlighting the intimate partner violence. I think that part was very important important and also looping in, I think the psych piece, cause you know, as you said, there's precipitating factors that played into this. And I do think, you know,
00:42:18
Speaker
Like you said, it's not an excuse. And to be honest, because he did what he did, I really don't care about his precipitating factors. I just i don't care either, to be honest. yeah yeah very yeah But I think it's important to note because for those who might be struggling, they might though they may not know these are the things you look out for when someone's not okay. And so those are sometimes flags you have to kind of keep an eye out for when you're dealing with a situation like this. Like, hey, are you experiencing this?
00:42:42
Speaker
person doing x Y, Z. Does it seem like we're kind of heading down this path? So that way you can protect yourself. You what trying to say? and And hopefully protect them from themselves, right? And hold your boys accountable. Like the people that's in his circle, you're seeing he's spiraling. Don't just ignore him.
00:42:57
Speaker
Reach into him. Support him. Celebrate him in ways that is most appropriate. Even if he's not having a job, celebrate him in getting up. Celebrate him in saying, yo, you you took a day, you didn't use alcohol. Celebrate him in going to his kid's basketball game. You know I mean? Yeah. And I want to urge black men and people in general, but black men, please, if you need help, there are resources available. Express Yourself, Black Man is a great podcast. You could tap in free therapy. There's also ah as well, 988. You can text and call. Like I do this for my patients.
00:43:33
Speaker
I'll have sit with them and tell them to text 988. You know what I'm saying? And they can provide local resources for you. You know Black men need therapy is another spot that you can get therapy from for free. There are resources. Please do not feel like you are not a man by not tapping in to mental health. I'm in therapy. I'll tell y'all that.
00:43:56
Speaker
I got my therapy appointment in a week and a half. I talk to every two weeks. So please do this. I beseech you. we we We need it. You need it. And i'm going to plug in I'm going to plug in the domestic violence hotline for all my women who might be experiencing domestic violence. Because, you know, I got to support the women's because this is something we deal with.
00:44:15
Speaker
um, working in the emergency department, I see everything on all spectrums. And I definitely also see domestic violence, sexual violence. I've seen it all. Um, and so this is a real thing. It's not make believe. It really does happen. And when you're that close to it, you understand that's something actually has to be done about this. So, If you want um to get help or you know someone or you yourself are experiencing um domestic violence, please reach out to 1-800-799-7233, the domestic violence hotline, and they should plug you in. They're open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and you can do what you need to do to get help and get support for the situation you may be dealing with or someone that you know may be dealing with.
00:44:58
Speaker
But...
Winners of 'Meet Me at the Villa': Experiences and Aspirations
00:45:00
Speaker
That was a lot. We, you know, we recapped AMEC. We talked about Dr. Iggy. And of course we highlighted a very important sentiment, which is femicide, domestic violence, and mental health and how all those three are connected. But thank you guys once again for tapping in once again, before we head out, we're about to drop the interview with our winners of meet me at the Villa. Hey,
00:45:24
Speaker
Here it is. Enjoy. Well, hello, everyone. My name is Dr. Isabella. I'm Dr. Aldrin Sumare. And we are looking forward to chatting with our two winners from Meet Me at the Villa from AMEC 2026 in Pittsburgh, Jordan and Give them a quick round of applause. Good. All right. so before we let them introduce themselves and give their little intro, um just to give a brief synopsis of Meet Me at the Villa. So the podcast this year, we had couple of events. One of them, our first event was Meet Me at the Villa. It was meant to be a way to connect AMEC participants. you know, either but mostly romantically, but you know, if you've got a platonic relationship out of it, that's cool too. Um, just like a way to kind of let people who are in medicine kind of get to know other people in medicine and maybe make, you know, a genuine connection.
00:46:16
Speaker
um so it was, uh, we hosted it on Thursday night, um, right after the talent show. Um, yeah. And, and we, we had a great time kind of getting to work with all the AMAC participants, people who came out who wanted to do it. um So it it really was just a way to kind of connect people um in medicine romantically. And we are really happy that we were able to come out with two winners who also um at the end of the experience um got to go on a date um that was, you know, sponsored by SMA Presents the Lounge podcast.
00:46:48
Speaker
And yeah, and so we're going to let them and in a little bit, we're going to let them kind of introduce themselves and kind of give you guys of an intro of who they are and what made them want to participate. Alden, you have anything? you want to add man the experience was dope i mean we had like at least 50 people in a room the energy was engaging exciting we had dj absolute on the beach holding it down and hosting it with us as well as our participants and our winners here and everyone else that have been involved so i mean i had a great time hosting it and um it's i'm so excited to have you guys on the pod with us this first time We got people from an event on a podcast. So I want to salute you guys, number one, for your courageousness.
00:47:30
Speaker
Number two, for taking the initiative because it was a lot of work to get people to take that next step to sit in those seats and get to know someone. And so I do want to commend you both for being involved and engaged. And now I would like to let you guys give a brief and introduction of yourselves. We'll go with Jordan first.
00:47:49
Speaker
Okay, so hi everyone. my name is Jordan Polo. I'm a student at Avalon University. I'm from South Carolina and um i actually went from AMEC with a friend of mine that invited me over.
00:48:00
Speaker
Love it. Welcome, Jordan. Hey. And now, VIA. Hi everyone, my name is Amiya Boyce. I am from New York. I go to school in New York. I go to STEM.
00:48:12
Speaker
I'm a third year undergraduate student looking to go into a pre-physician scientist track, so that's MD-PhD track. And yeah, I was excited. This is my second AMEC and it's it only gets better and better. So, and me participating was just allowing my experience to be even better. So yeah.
00:48:32
Speaker
Nah, that's a fact. That's calm. That's calm. Thank you guys for both introducing yourselves. So to start, tell us what made you interested in participating in Meet Me at the Villa?
00:48:44
Speaker
So, um funny enough, I actually, in the beginning, think this feels almost mean kind of saying this. I wasn't going to go originally. Okay. I went to one of the R&B club nights um really early, and I was thinking about nine because...
00:49:00
Speaker
i'm I'm very punctual. So like you say, be there at nine, I'll be there at nine. I went in, there was just two people at the club. oh And so so um i had made I had made a group chat with a couple of people I met on the first day for orientation. We had a group chat going and um a couple of them said, Hey, like there's a meet the villa thing going on tonight. And I was like, Hey, why not? You know, like,
00:49:23
Speaker
If the party's not going to start for like another hour, might as well. Let's see how it goes. So I walked 12 minutes because I had already taken like a $20 Uber over to the club and I wasn't going to spend another $20 to go back to the Woodson. So I walked there and then at first, again, like I wasn't going to join in this. I was just going to watch...
00:49:45
Speaker
And then what i that when I saw when I saw that there was like six girls and five guys and obviously like you guys are the host are sitting here asking everyone. I sat there and i was like, it's the first day, Mac.
00:49:59
Speaker
If I make a fool out of myself, I make a fool out of myself. Let's just and someone sads and jump in. Right. I love that. I love that. That's ah that's a genuine response. What about you, Avia? was going to go regardless, but I wasn't going to participate.
00:50:15
Speaker
And was when I wanted my other friends to go. They were like, I'm not going if you're not going to like be in the show, Avia. So was like, okay, I'm going to do it. Okay, period. First is on.
00:50:30
Speaker
first of words and i got there and i'm like oh my gosh have to sign up now have to wait in the line but you know anything for the plot is my second amac i'm trying to network and this is a way to network even as you know romantic as it sounds it may not be medical but it's still a way to network and i'm like you know let me do it like what am i scared of nobody's gonna see me after this i think You'd be surprised. Be careful. that more That's so funny. Well, I love that. I love how it seems like Jordan came in, honestly, more kind of like a spontaneous situation. And Avia actually had it planned out um to some extent. So you guys both kind of had different motives and initially, but in the end, you know, it worked out.
00:51:15
Speaker
um So loved that response. But anyway... I'd like to for you guys to actually both give us a recap of your experience kind of participating in the event. Like generally, like what did you, how did you think it went?
00:51:25
Speaker
You know, how do you feel like it maybe impacted you um potentially or or what do you feel like you learned from it? So anyone can start. but For me personally, like going into the event, I liked it a lot, especially because like,
00:51:40
Speaker
like It's been a while since I've taken like a leadership role to say, because when we were doing improv, there wasn't a lot of people that knew what to do and were trying to come in. So eventually I just came in telling people like, hey, you can try this, you can try that. that like Thank goodness for like my SGA. like training back over in med school.
00:52:00
Speaker
But I liked it a lot. I liked the chance to see other people's perspective and meet other people from all over the U.S. and people from different cultures and talk about what we like. Like when talked with Abia, she wanted to practice Spanish. So it was really great.
00:52:20
Speaker
and I enjoyed it. It was really, really fun. And the twist was a little bit surprising. i was looking surprised by your guys' this twist when the bombshells came out. So it kept me on my toes. and Okay, we're full of surprises. I know that. On the podcast, because we were definitely full of surprises. Okay, cool. The experience was definitely...
00:52:40
Speaker
I would say, would I describe It was very random, but in good way. Like I got to, especially the speed dating part, was like, okay, like what do I even tell people to be like, this is me in this short amount of time. And then what am I looking for? Like there were so many different like things.
00:52:58
Speaker
my interest that I saw in these guys and was like, okay, like what do I prioritize? which What do I want to get out of this? So it was very like on the spot, randomized.
00:53:08
Speaker
And it was very, it satiated my type B desires. Like I'm not a very, like I'm very long to go. Like I do whatever, follow the leader type thing. So the experience very much said that. And For the bombshells, you know, I'm just happy Jordan knew where home was, so. Oh. Hey. Hey.
00:53:30
Speaker
You love it. A curveball that y'all threw, but you know, me we can. He stood firm. Right. I wasn't expecting you guys out there. was like, are we really doing this? I forgot about that aspect of Love Island until they're like you guys were like, we're bringing in prom sounds. I'm like, oh.
00:53:52
Speaker
Right, right.
00:53:55
Speaker
See, I talked about some of this a little bit, of some of the things you did like and experience, but tell me out of the things that you did experience, what was like your favorite activity during the event and why?
00:54:07
Speaker
me... um so me I did like asking like the men questions afterwards. I'm like, no, did I feel like a little bit scared? Absolutely. Because my ADHD, like during that entire session, like there was like with Avia, it was great. Like already we talked for a lot. We connected really well. There was one lady who had asked me what her favorite color was.
00:54:28
Speaker
And I'm like, Did she even ask me this question? And so I kind of sat here and I was like, yellow, I guess. I know the speed dating session was really funny, especially when me the boys were sitting back there. We were like, dude, do you remember anything? And it's like, dog, like it's taking a minute for it to come back. Right, right. yeah so How about for you, Avian?
00:54:53
Speaker
Yeah, my favorite part was being asked questions because it also allowed me to look at myself and like realize more about myself in that moment. So it was not just me letting people know who I am, but it's also like me feeling myself, okay, like, yeah, I do want to learn Spanish. So let me tell Jordan that I want to learn Spanish. And little did I know that we would connect on something as little as that that I thought was like something I would want to do. but he ended up being Hispanic. So just little things like that to form those tiny connections were favorite part of the show.
00:55:27
Speaker
I love it. no mean And this is not like a planned question, but I do have a a quick follow-up question before my actual question, but you guys kind of touched on it a little bit, but what is something that you feel like you both maybe learned or got out from the experience that you weren't expecting to get out from the experience? Mm-hmm.
00:55:43
Speaker
I wasn't expecting it out of the experience. Definitely I wasn't really expecting to kind of get like that camaraderie between all the other like med students because at first I really thought like oh this is going to be competitive. Some guy's going to get really in their feeling trying to get first. Everyone was really tight and even got a chance to like to make even more friends and make some few more connections so I enjoyed that. Yeah.
00:56:07
Speaker
That's dope. Love that. I guess it would be the improv part. The improv part definitely threw me for a loop. I i did not go up there trying to act and, you know, trying to be a patient in the hospital. So that improv part did throw me for a loop. But, you know, i was down to try anything. So I was I was ready for it.
00:56:31
Speaker
Right. Love those answers. Yeah, I think that's actually i really liked your answer to though, Jordan, in terms of like the camaraderie, like actually getting to me because that's actually was really the point of doing this. Like, yeah, there was the romantic component, but like we really wanted people to just like get to know each other as the conference was happening because a lot of times you don't have that chance to do it when you're just, you know,
00:56:51
Speaker
twerking at the club like sometimes it's a bunch of people and you don't really make those like real one-to-one connections so i feel like these more intimate events like what we did really was to kind of help people actually really get to meet each other so you know that makes me feel like you know we really did kind of achieve that but anyway so my real next question is what's really been the most challenging aspect and this is a little bit more personal but what's been the most challenging aspect you guys have both experienced individually when it's come to dating or pursuing romantic relationships For me, I would say just because I am at student timing, it can be, like medicine is very rewarding. And i I've been a huge science nurse ever since then.
00:57:29
Speaker
When it comes to saying it can be a little bit tough because yeah you have partners that maybe don't like the long distance. They don't like the fact that you, in order to really have time together you have to schedule it instead of it being like hey like let's hang out right now or hang out tomorrow not like a week from now so in the terms of that it could be dating wise could be a little bit uh difficult in that aspect there's also like hey what do you want from this do you actually want a long-term partner or are you looking for something in the short term e right that's true for me i feel like it's more one of those things of
00:58:04
Speaker
You just have to be honest. you know like If you want something in the short term, just be honest and upfront. Med school is already demanding. We don't really need any more drama on our hands. 100%. Facts of life. 100%.
00:58:20
Speaker
yeah What about you, Aviyah? For me, it's the same timing thing, but on an undergrad level because i my path is medicine. That's my path. and Finding people who want that path...
00:58:34
Speaker
Exactly. Finding people who will align with that path. And on a campus that's full of different personalities, and would say not, I'm not saying I'm the most mature person, but on a campus where not everybody has matured, like, finding somebody who I could bring along with me on that path and make it worthwhile and won't, like, drive me away, that is very difficult.
00:58:57
Speaker
So, I'm also standing firm in what I believe in. Like, I'm a very... main person sometimes. I'm the benefit of the doubt. Just standing firm in what I believe in so I won't be distracted is another challenge. so I just try to stay away from that dating world. Knowing myself in this moment, like I have a goal.
00:59:22
Speaker
and not I'm not trying to look for anything that could be distracting. Okay. I have a quick little follow-up question though to that. so Does that mean that you feel like you are pausing on, like, dating seriously because you're so focused on your goal? Or, like, where where do you kind of stand with that? I'm just asking because i feel there's a lot of other people, like, listeners, even who might be on a similar trajectory, because you have, like, a similar mindset. So it might be helpful to, like, pick your brain about that.
00:59:46
Speaker
Yeah, I definitely wouldn't say I'm pausing because at the end of the day, I'm trying to have a nice family. And, you know, people have college sweethearts, but it's definitely not my main priority, of course. Like, in the back my mind, I see somebody, I like them, I, you know, observe before I...
01:00:02
Speaker
see if I want to put my eggs in that basket or vice versa. Like I'm not chasing my way. Like I'm just seeing like if I would with energy could figure that out before I, you know, give this person my time, my energy or a little, little bits of me that I'm dedicating to my goals. So it's not paused more like it's in the background.
01:00:24
Speaker
Okay. No, that's good. No, real talk. Like what I really love from both of you is like your truth and transparency, you know, via focus and prioritizing, trying to get into med school and becoming a physician in Jordan, navigating dating and, you know, keeping it, keeping it real, you know, and knowing what's real for you and what's necessary for you is very important as you're in medical school. There's a lot of obligations, not just with dating, but also with school, family, community and things of that nature. But with that being said, we need y'all to give us some of that.
01:00:56
Speaker
Yeah. how you guys how how have you guys been since the event at amec meet the villa meet me at the villa what's going on and also give us the recap too of the like a very brief an office of the date too i heard a little bit from jordan at amec but you know we also want to hear a little bit about the date yeah so like i'll start from my timeline i'll start from the date and then move on from there so i believe meet the villa was on a thursday it was on saturday when we went ahead and there was a bar at the spitzery and i had found that place out because on friday i got to there was a little get together where a couple of surgeons would come by and they would talk to their stories and i got to meet emergency medicine doc i am a person to wear like
01:01:41
Speaker
I'm a really big fan of mocktails. And so I was like, hey, why don't we get some mocktails over at the Spitzery to start with there. And from there, I talked about where I was from. I talked about my background that although I am from South Carolina, I was born in New Jersey. Okay, Jersey. Yeah, I do. to And so this from time to time, people here in West Virginia, I'll be like, oh yeah, I'm from New York. and But um usually I usually, went ahead and I started like, hey, no, like I was in high school. I was going to join the military at first to try and get some money for college.
01:02:18
Speaker
But my parents being an only child sat there were like, you think I immigrated all the way for Columbia for you to come in and you become a doctor? And I was like, no, let me explain. Okay.
01:02:29
Speaker
I get a lot of background. I will admit, I am a yapper. I am a yapper. But I also talked about what i liked the one I like personally. I'm a big reader. My guilty pleasure I do go on BookTok lot. and And so I have a massive collection. of like Right now I'm on the Way of Kings, just from my archive. I'm a massive nerd.
01:02:49
Speaker
I grew up on Dragon Ball Z, Naruto. And like I'm a big Magic the Gathering fan too. My buddy Michael has been like begging me, and this year I finally gave in. So I also talked about like my own interests too. i just sit there and be like, let's just talk about medical school for right now.
01:03:03
Speaker
I'm screaming. That's good. And what did you learn about like Avia and kind of like, you know, how did that general experience go? i would say. I got to see this mostly for I have to see a little bit of the university experience because going straight out of high school, I didn't really have that, you know, college experience going around like, oh, hey like, you know, the typical class of like hundreds of people versus going in and then versus like that tiny amount I have.
01:03:29
Speaker
Plus, there's a lot of freedom on the island, too. And so I got to like go to Mambo Beach, experience a lot of like a foreign culture and stuff. And she also told me a little bit some places about New York to go and visit, which I really liked, which probably for Step 2, I might study over at b Brighton Park because apparently the library is like huge. Mm-hmm.
01:03:47
Speaker
Well, okay. So it sounds like, um, you learned about Avian, like where she's from. You also talked about your experience, like your journey throughout ah medicine and your interests. That's really nice. and then how have you guys kind of remained connected post the bill? I'm still on Jordan cause I'm going to get to Avian too, but how, how have you guys kind of remained connected?
01:04:02
Speaker
like mostly through text Mostly through text messages. And at the end of the day, we kind of admit that we are at different stages in life. Like I'm about to go and to finish up my course and I'm going to try to match at certain places. So I'm probably going to go even farther away. So I sat there and I said, hey, I would love to like, you know, keep in touch, be platonic. And hey, if you have any advice about medical school, about resources, like don't hesitate to like shoot me a shot. i love helping out other students in their journey as well.
01:04:31
Speaker
So that's what I usually ended off with with our date. And then, of course, we took the photo after for you guys. Yeah, I love the photo. side Love it. OK, OK. So on to now sounds Miss Sevilla. So tell us a little about your experience with the date and then like how you guys have remained connected.
01:04:49
Speaker
Yeah, so the date was a great way to learn about Jordan. As you can see, he's a yapper. Don't do my boy like that. You know, he likes to Hold on. It's truth.
01:05:08
Speaker
yes there's there's level right just Yeah, so I very by him how learned like about the whole Caribbean med school experience, and I will admit, as soon as he said Caribbean med school, I could see him go to Caribbean med school, and I'm New York, Caribbean med school, New York. So, you know, there was definitely that. i already knew we are in different areas of life. like this was like It was definitely a way to connect, and he was definitely there as a mentor, I would say. As he said, we connect through text, and
01:05:41
Speaker
also like he's a person that i can go to that's been on this path and even though he didn't go through the whole university experiment experience he's still in med school and that's where I'm trying to get to so that's one person that I can call on thankfully or text I have Jordan to text about this experience so it was it's just great to have him in my circle and you know yeah the the day is good great to talk right so at least you guys got some drinks in got some chat and then at least it also seems like you guys like learned about what you both who you guys both were and also kind of where you guys both were like whether or not that was go to be compatible which is a really useful skill to build too like sometimes you need to build that skill through like dating other people you know so that's nice that you guys at least got to kind of tease that out love it
01:06:33
Speaker
Yeah, no, that's a fact. We again appreciate both of your honesty. You know, I think that it was great that you guys were able to like establish a connection, mentee mentoring. That's what AMEC is about, right? You just never know who you're going tap in with. Like that was my seventh AMEC and each time I go,
01:06:50
Speaker
I get re-inspired, reinverated reinvigorated by the people I come across and people that have came across. I've seen one of my homies from 2011 when we did the summer medical dental education program at Rutgers in Newark, New Jersey. Now he's attending pediatricians. So the beauty thing about beautiful thing is that you guys will continue to see each other at these conferences and who knows what the future may hold.
01:07:12
Speaker
So with that being said, um before we let y'all go tell the listeners how we how they can connect to you if you're on social media.
01:07:24
Speaker
I was about to say a whole sentence with that with my new microphone off. I'm usually, I'm on Instagram at 1911polo. I don't post a lot, but my DMs are like, that's where I'm most active, ah ah to be honest.
01:07:39
Speaker
So if you ever want to get in contact or talk to me. Okay, it's hard to say the DMs is open. Hold on, you don't think we didn't peep that. I love that for you. Yo, Gotti, what? DMs is where I am pretty active. I don't post much, but if you ever want to ask a question, whether it's about my school or medical school journey, 1911 Polo is where at. Love it. Smooth, smooth.
01:08:02
Speaker
love it smooth room Yeah, so I can be found on Instagram at Uniqua unique without the E and then my name. And then, yeah, I'm pretty active on there, especially after the and MCAT. Everything's been re-downloaded. So if you, you know, contact me, I should get a notification.
01:08:22
Speaker
okay love it period so that is ah at 1911 polo for jordan and at unique avia so drop the e unique and then her name avia um both on instagram jordan says his dms are open avia said you can connect with her like a normal person okay Love it. Well, this is a great conversation. I really, I think this is like super special. I think it's nice that we can share this with our listeners who, if for whatever reason you missed, meet me at the Villa. If you did, you missed big time because it was a really great event.
01:08:55
Speaker
We really got to, you know, witness either budding physicians, mostly budding physicians or budding, you know, pre-meds who are soon going to be starting medical school kind of tap into that other side, whether was romantic or some platonic and some mentor mentee. I kind of really see them get to try that side out during our event. So we hope to see you guys next year at AMEC 2027 in Vegas. Thank you guys so much again for participating in SMA presents the lounge podcast, meet me at the Villa event. And yeah, we hope guys had a great time and to our listeners, thank you for tapping in once again, and we'll catch you guys in our next episode. Awesome. Thank you guys so much for having us. Thank you for having me.
01:09:38
Speaker
Appreciate it. That's our show. Thanks so much for joining us for this episode of The Lounge. Let us know your thoughts about discussions we had today or ask us a question for a chance to be featured on the show by emailing us at podcast at snma.org. be sure to follow the SNMA on all our social media platforms to stay up to date on upcoming events.
01:10:04
Speaker
Thank y'all for tuning in and we'll catch you guys next episode.