The first meeting for the Medical Explorers Club (MEC), run by Sarah Arner (12) and Kaylee Hagadorn (11), took place on September 7th at 7:45 am in Room 302. With merely one meeting in the books, the club already seems to have great potential! 

Hidden Valley has a plethora of clubs which students have the opportunity to participate in: clubs for knitting, marketing, French, book discussions, history, science, debate, math, business, and chess, just to name a few. Hidden Valley has never had a club for aspiring medical professionals, though. Now, MEC is filling the gap for students who would like to learn more about medicine! The club will focus on informing members about various jobs in the field and inviting guests to speak about their experiences in these positions.  

Presidents Arner and Hagadorn are also enthusiastic about Medical Explorers Club. They started the club because they were curious about careers in medicine and noticed that Hidden Valley didn’t have a club for aspiring medical professionals like themselves. “We wanted to provide the opportunity for other students to get inspired to join the field and experience various medical professions,” Hagadorn explains, “We really just wanted to share the careers with others!” The two leaders seem to have a lot of work ahead of them, but they are up for the task! 

Roanoke, with the presence of two large medical groups and various towering hospitals, is the perfect place to run an activity like Medical Explorers Club. Leadership Sarah Arner and Kaylee Hagadorn are prepared to take full advantage of this fortunate position. Flight nurses, cardiologists, and anesthesiologists are just a few of the career specialists that they would like to have speak at the club. Other plans include going to a medical center to be a part of the action– or at least see it up close. The activities of MEC are sure to not only be fun, but informative, too! 

Students are incredibly excited about the new club and its opportunities. Gabby Purviance (11) attended the first meeting, marveling, “It’s unlike any other club at Hidden Valley! The environment was friendly and welcoming, and their activities are perfect for anyone who is considering having a career in medicine.” Other attendees seem to agree, and who can blame them: MEC also provided doughnuts! 

If you are considering pursuing a career in medicine, or even just find the health profession interesting, pop into their next meeting! The club gets together on the first and last Tuesdays of each month. You will get to learn a ton and have fun while doing it.