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AMCAS Most Meaningful Experience Sample #14

Experience Type: Extracurricular Activities

Experience Name: Founder of Public Health Accessibility Awareness Club for Students

Contact Name & Title: Dr. Julie Longo, Director of Student Activities

Contact Email: [email protected]

Contact Phone: 3002990366

Organization Name: Student Activities Office, X University

City/State/Country: Anaheim / California / United States

Most Meaningful Experience: Yes

Dates: 04/20XX-06/20XX

Total Hours: 300

Experience Description: I founded the Public Health Accessibility Awareness Club for students after I recognized that students with physical disabilities weren’t accommodated adequately in the higher education system. My primary role at the club was to promote awareness of accessibility needs across campus. I frequently met with the dean and other faculty members to discuss potential ways to repair accessibility gaps. After a year of fundraising, we raised over $10,000, which was used to build wheelchair access in campus buildings. (518 characters, with spaces)

Most Meaningful Experiences Remarks: One of my closest friends was recovering from a spinal cord injury during our freshman year. Because the school only had one wheelchair access point close to the side of the campus where most of her classes were, her attendance dropped significantly. She felt embarrassed at having to ask for help or to be seen struggling to make her way through the narrow passages. She and I decided to start the Public Health Accessibility Awareness Club for Students to raise awareness about these issues. We arranged a meeting with the dean and agreed that we should develop a budget for building better wheelchair access points and elevators. We printed posters, spoke to friends and classmates, and even started several social media channels to help spread the word. Within a few months, we’d gained roughly 50 new club members. We sold t-shirts, jewellery, and other items to help fundraise. By the end of the year, we had our budget set. The new wheelchair access ramps are being built and should be complete at some point in the next month or so. If we didn’t communicate and listen to those in need, we would’ve never succeeded in making our goal a reality. Being an advocate taught me the importance of remaining sensitive and aware of disability issues and other barriers to access. (1,282 characters, with spaces)

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