Admissions, Alumni, and More

Today we have the final guest blog comments from CCOM student Alan Shahtaji, MS-III. A student leader and interesting person, Alan offers his insights on clinical rotations and how they compare to Hollywood's depiction of life as a medical student.

Today's guest blog comes from CCOM student Alan Shahtaji, MS-III. Some things to know about him: he was just elected as the national president of the Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA); first national SOMA Project UNITY Campaign Director; CCOM Class of 2008 Vice President; and CCOM Student of the Year for 2007. Also, he won a trip to Super Bowl XLI (and a date) through a nationwide essay contest (Bears fan Sarah Spain auctioned herself on eBay in exchange for a ticket to the game; AXE sponsored the contest and sent both Alan and Sarah to Miami for the Super Bowl).

Today's guest blog comes from Abena Patton, Manager of Special Events and Web Communications for the Downers Grove Campus. Abena and her daughter Damia volunteered at this year's annual Groovin' in the Grove 5K Race on Mother's Day. Here is her insights into the popular campus event:

Yesterday, in the 100+ degree heat, we ran from one open house to another on our Glendale Campus to celebrate two exciting initiatives. The first event was a grand opening of our new multidisciplinary clinic, and the second was a reception for the Valley's dental community for our College of Dental Medicine. Both drew large crowds of supporters and interested community members.

Chicago is a city full of history. I'm a huge geek when it comes to history (my undergrad degree is in history; my master's thesis was on the 1893 Chicago's World Fair; and my doctoral dissertation proposal includes a large section on the history of osteopathic medicine). So, when I was thinking of something fun to do this past weekend, I decided to travel to Springfield to visit the new President Abraham Lincoln Library & Museum.