June 13, 2025

By Bengucan Gunen, 2025 MCHSO President

What a year it’s been for the Maternal & Child Health Student Organization (MCHSO)! From Welcome Week back in August 2024, to our end-of-year celebration last week, we set out to create spaces where students could grow professionally, serve our community, and deepen their understanding of maternal and child health. We’re so grateful for the Drexel students and staff who joined us on this journey!

A Few Highlights

As the academic year winds down, we’d like to reflect on our past events.

Throughout the year, we hosted professional development & networking events to help students interested in MCH learn more about career paths in public health consulting, non-profit organizations, government service, and community-based research. We hosted monthly Journal Clubs where we discussed peer-reviewed journal articles and discussed MCH topics.

Each quarter, we gathered for a General Body Meeting to share updates on upcoming events and to brainstorm future initiatives while playing a game of Jeopardy or crafting a vision board, and enjoying plenty of good food. We also partnered with other organizations to host events supporting students. These included our Valentine’s Day tabling event, co-hosted with the Dornsife Student Government Organization (SGO), which promoted self-care and sexual wellness and our Finals Week Stress Relief Painting Event, co-hosted with the Graduate Student Association (GSA), which brought students together to de-stress, paint, and chat before winter finals.

During National Public Health Week, we participated in the school's public health fair and hosted a reproductive-health film screening and Q&A with Aasta Mehta, MD, MPP, Director of the Division of Maternal, Child & Family Health at the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Dr. Mehta's insights on health disparities and reproductive justice helped us reflect on the real-world impact we can have as public health professionals.

We organized several community service events, including making holiday cards for patients at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, and assembling knitting kits for mothers with newborns in the NICU at the Children’s Hospital for Philadelphia. We enjoyed walking together as a team in a local breast cancer awareness walk in the fall. For Mother’s Day, we assembled and delivered care packages to mothers with infants in the NICU at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children, reminding them that the Drexel community stands with them during a challenging time.

Thanks to the generosity of the Drexel community, we raised funds to support next year’s initiatives. To show our gratitude, we closed the year with an End-of-Year Celebration in Nesbitt Hall. About 50 students received a tote bag stocked with interview-ready essentials and internship goodies (including folders, pens, journals, sunscreen, and sweet treats), and meal boxes were distributed to refuel students for finals week. It was the perfect way to cheer on graduates preparing for their next career move, and students preparing for their Applied Practical Experiences this summer. We loved reconnecting with past and current MCHSO officers, and say bye to our friends preparing to graduate.

What’s Next

We’re already planning a full slate of events for Fall 2025! Keep an eye on your inbox, on DragonLink, and our Instagram (@Drexel_MCHSO) for details. To our graduating members: congratulations on this amazing achievement! We can’t wait to celebrate with you at commencement! Thank you, Drexel and Dornsife communities, for making 2024–2025 unforgettable. See you in September!