Former President of the University of Miami MEDLIFE Chapter Dalia Husainy took time to chat with me about her time volunteering with MEDLIFE and how it has influenced her. She shared some thoughts about her E-Board position, her time as a volunteer in Ecuador and Peru, and what advice she would impart on someone considering getting involved with MEDLIFE.
Read her full interview below:
Mary: Hi Dalia, so my first question is, could you just introduce yourself and talk a bit about where you studied and what your position title was as an E-Board member?
Dalia: So, my name is Dalia Husainy. I went to the University of Miami, and I studied applied math there, and now I’m a fourth year medical student at the University of Central Florida College of Medicine. I’m also one of the former presidents of MEDLIFE at University of Miami.
Mary: And how did you get into MEDLIFE? How did you hear about it?
Dalia: I went to the Student Activities Fair around orientation time freshman year, and I saw their little trifold board. And I was like: “oh, that sounds interesting.” I put my email down. I went to a meeting. And I just really liked how everyone on the E-Board were such good friends with each other. They were really engaging and inclusive of everyone who showed up to the meeting. They really wanted people to join and were really passionate about the club. And I was like: “okay, cool.”
Mary: Could you describe a little bit about just what your position entailed?
Dalia: When I was president, I think my main job was to recruit new members and get people to go on the SLTs. And then other things like fundraising for money to donate to MEDLIFE. And then also organizing local outreach events within the community. I think those are the big things, you know, coordinating with the E-Board to get other stuff done.
Mary: And so how did your time with MEDLIFE impact you? How did it impact your career goals and your academic goals?
Dalia: Yes, I think MEDLIFE really showed me that there’s communities in need everywhere. So, you know, when I went to volunteer in Ecuador and Peru, I saw there were lots of communities who didn’t have access to healthcare. You know, we’re 100 miles away from any type of physician or healthcare facility. And then when I came back to the US, and now in medical school, I see that a lot of the problems that exist outside the US also exist here too. So it definitely made me want to emphasize taking care of people in the US that also have limited access to health care.
Mary: And did you find that your position influenced anything to do with your leadership skills, and how does that kind of impact the way that you approach leadership now?
Dalia: I think in being a President, I feel like I better understood what it took to be a good non-president, like I figured out what made a good E-Board member, and it was someone who followed up on stuff, came up with new ideas, and is enthusiastic.
Mary: Do you have any advice that you would give somebody who has just started as an E-Board member?
Dalia: I would say, if you’re really passionate about the organization, like the E-Board members that I worked with were, it’ll really show in your work. So if you really want to be part of the E-board, then you’ll be excited about everything you do. And express how much you’re passionate about the organization to people who want to join and it’ll all follow suit.
Mary: What would you tell someone who is just considering getting involved with MEDLIFE, not even joining as an E-Board member, but just dipping their toe into the MEDLIFE world?
Dalia: Yeah, I would say, join. You don’t have to go on an SLT right off the bat, there’s a lot of local volunteer opportunities. You can use those to mimic a lot of the same goals of an SLT, and meet some of the members and the E-Board first.
Mary: Thank you Dalia, those are all my questions for you.
Dalia: Thank you!
If Dalia’s words about MEDLIFE have inspired you to learn how you can get involved with the movement and make an impact by assisting low-income communities on one of our volunteer trips abroad, fill out the interest form below or download our free brochure to get started today!