Co-President

Maria Chopivsky
mec7ah@virginia.edu

Hey AMSA! My name is Maria Chopivsky and I am serving as your Co-President for the upcoming year. As a member of AMSA, you can expect many amazing opportunities to significantly improve the quality of your premedical years at UVA. I’m extremely excited to serve with Rachel as your President, and with your help I know this will be a great year for UVA AMSA!

I am a fourth-year Psychology major with an interest in pediatrics and obstetrics. AMSA is just one of the many activities of which I am passionate about here at UVA. I am also involved in the Madison House Daycare program and conduct research in a Pancreatic Cancer Research Lab. I am also of Ukrainian heritage, and am very active in the Ukrainian Community.

AMSA was the first club I joined my first year at UVA, and it has proved to be one of the most exciting. I served as Secretary my second and third years and have been involved with the Community Service committee. The thing that attracted me most to AMSA was the student initiative and leadership. Members of this club are very passionate about medicine and hold a number of events around Grounds and Charlottesville. This year I hope to expand on the opportunities we now provide. This club has not only grown but improved since I first joined, and we hope to continue the trend this year!

Please don’t hesitate to email me or approach me at the meetings with any questions or ideas you may have for the club!!

Co-President

Rachel Penn
rip6j@virginia.edu

Hi! My name is Rachel Penn and I will be one of the AMSA Co-Presidents for this upcoming year. Maria and I are both extremely excited to spend our fourth years working together as the leaders of AMSA. We have both been members of this premed society since our first years at UVA, and we are excited to even further expand the opportunities that AMSA offers.

I am a fourth-year Cognitive Science major with a concentration in Neuroscience, and a minor in Biology. For the past year, I have worked in a Neuroscience research lab, and am now working on a thesis for the CogSci Distinguished Majors Program. In addition to AMSA, for the past two years I have volunteered as a soccer coach through SOCA. I am also a member of Delta Zeta sorority, volunteer in South 7 at Martha Jefferson hospital, and have played both club rugby and rec soccer during my years in school.

AMSA has been extremely helpful in guiding me through the tough journey onto medical school. Being pre-med is certainly not easy, and this club has provided me with the clinical, volunteer, and leadership experience that I needed to make sure that this is the right direction for me. For three years, AMSA has helped guide me through my pre-med years, and I am excited to give back and return the advice to the members of the club.

Maria and I are looking forward to this upcoming year. Please feel free to let us know of any questions or suggestions that you have for us!

Treasurer

Chama Chakri
cc3xd@virginia.edu

Hi AMSA! My name is Chama Chakri and I will be the AMSA treasurer for this upcoming year. I am a second-year at the College of Arts & Sciences from Casablanca, Morocco and I will be majoring in foreign affairs. In addition to participating in AMSA, my activities include being a counselor for the University Judiciary Committee, serving as a chair for the Virginia International Crisis Simulation (VICS) annual conference, and volunteering in the Charlottesville community.

AMSA was one of the very first organizations whose initial meeting I attended and shortly after decided to join. During my first year at UVA, AMSA has been a wonderful source of information and helpful tips on my path to a medical career. I would like to continue making this organization as helpful to you as it was to me, so feel free to email me or approach me at a meeting with ideas regarding fundraising or any other aspect of AMSA we could improve to better suit your needs. I look forward to meeting and working with each and every one of you this upcoming year!

Secretary

Sasha Gitomirski
ag2eg@virginia.edu

Hey AMSA!
My name is Sasha and I’m serving as your AMSA secretary this year. I’m a second-year majoring in Russian and East European Studies. Along with AMSA, I am a resident advisor in a first-year dorm, work as a medical scribe in the UVA Emergency Room, write for the Health and Science section of the Cavalier Daily and volunteer with Pancakes for Parkinson’s. I also love being active outdoors and exploring all the cool places Charlottesville has to offer!

AMSA was one of the first organizations I joined as a UVA undergraduate, and it has been the most helpful. Not only are we privileged to hear from a variety of speakers, but also benefit from the pre-med advice we receive from professionals as well as students who have been through the medical school application process. Entering the healthcare field is undoubtedly a long journey, and the community offered through AMSA will help guide students through this tough process.

As your secretary, I will keep you updated on the information presented in each of our meetings, present new ideas for improving our organization, and always be responsive to any suggestions. Feel free to ask me any questions or voice any ideas you may have!

Policy Chair

Keanan McGonigle
kmm7kh@virginia.edu

Hello AMSA! The name’s Keanan McGonigle, and I have the honor of serving as your Policy Chair. I have lots of plans for the upcoming year (but am always looking for more!), with the overall goal of making everyone more knowledgeable about insurance, public health, and the healthcare industry in general. This may seem like a daunting task, which is why I am looking for passionate pre-meds to join the Policy Committee and help me out. If you are interested in policy, government, public health, or writing about any of these topics, I want to talk to you!

I am a second-year hopefully minoring in French and majoring in Human Biology to combine my passions for healthcare, biology, and policy. Besides AMSA, I am also in the Cavalier Marching Band (Go Hoos!), the Chinese Student Association, and I volunteer with Med Services through Madison House and in a lab in the medical school. AMSA is an awesome way to hear about current, prevalent healthcare issues from the many experts we have access to through the medical school, as well as develop an understanding of what exactly is going on in our future career field.

With the recent passage of the Affordable Care Act, things have been changing in the healthcare field and will continue to (most dramatically in 2014). It’s our responsibility to stay abreast of what’s happening, both as future doctors and well-informed citizens. The Policy Committee will be producing a monthly newsletter to keep AMSA and anyone who’s interested up to date on developments in everything from infectious diseases to ground-breaking research to whatever Congress is up to. If this sounds like something you would want to be a part of, please don’t hesitate to contact me! If you have any questions, suggestions, ideas, grammatical corrections, please shoot me an email!

Service Chair

Titus Matthews
tmv5aa@virginia.edu

Hey people of AMSA! My name is Titus Matthews, and I am this year’s Service Chair. I’m a second year and hoping to double major in Biology and Politics. Two completely different areas I know, but I’m interested in both. In addition to AMSA, I’m also a part of Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship.

Coming to UVA, I knew that I wanted to go to med school, but I needed to find something that would help me along the way. After going to AMSA’s first meeting in the fall of 2010, I realized that this was where I was supposed to be. I joined AMSA not just because of the free food, but also because of all the information and perks that came along with it. AMSA has given me so much insight into the medical field and what I need to do in order to one day become a doctor.

As Service Chair, I will provide you all with as many opportunities as possible by working with other organizations and being up to date on what is happening around Charlottesville. I think that it’s important for all of us to volunteer and serve our community. If any of you have questions or suggestions for future events, feel free to email me. I look forward to working with you and making this year a huge success!

Professional Development Chair

Yong Sang Park
x@virginia.edu

Hey guys, my name is Yong-Sang Park and I am serving as your Pro Development Chair this coming fall. I am a third year majoring in either biology or biochemistry, with an interest in anesthesiology and orthopedics. Besides AMSA I am involved in other things such as Madison House Med Services and tissue regeneration research at the medical center, all of which I am very passionate about.

When I first came to UVA I didn't really have a good idea of what I wanted to pursue here, and I was considering a number of different career paths. AMSA's greatest help to me was that it provided a wealth of information about the medical field and even a first look at what it was like to be a doctor through the shadowing program, both of which were helpful in my decision to keep with the pre-med track. As your new Pro Development Chair, I know how important these experiences are and will work to keep these opportunities available to our members by continuing our shadowing program and brining in great speakers to keep you all well informed!

Also, if you have any questions on classes, professors, etc., don't hesitate to email me. I'll be happy to address whatever concerns you have, as so many others have helped me with the same issues.

Publicity Chair

Matt Hensell
mth5nd@virginia.edu

Matthew is a Third Year student in the College of Arts and Sciences. He is majoring in Foreign Affairs and minoring in Chemistry. He currently writes and illustrates the comic strip "Greek Life" in the Cavalier Daily. He hopes to increase attendance at general AMSA meetings and to help raise aware of special AMSA events to both members and the general student population.

Recruitment Coordinator

Ben Johnson
bfj2rw@virginia.edu

Hey Amsa! My name's Ben Johnson, and I'll be serving as your Recruitment Coordinator this year. I'm looking forward to working with all of you to ensure that AMSA remains UVA's number one pre-medical society by recruiting new members and increasing our recognition around Grounds.

I am a rising Third Year majoring in Cognitive Science, with a concentration in Neuroscience. Outside of AMSA, I work in a Neurochemistry laboratory, am a member of the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, and volunteer as an Emergency Medical Technician. I arrived at the University without a clear idea of what major or career path I intended to pursue, and only stumbled upon AMSA by chance, after overhearing a friend speaking about it. Needless to say, AMSA has both catalyzed my interest in medicine and confirmed my desire to enter medical school. I think it's a truly exciting experience to be surrounded by like-minded peers within a supportive community like AMSA.

During the 2011-2012 school year, I hope to see AMSA at it's most members ever, and work to increase attendance at meetings as well. I look forward to getting to know all of you better, and if you ever have questions or comments for me, feel free to email!

Webmaster

Juyeon Park
jp6rd@virginia.edu

Hey everyone in AMSA! I am Juyeon Park and I will be your AMSA webmaster for the 2011-2012 school year. Like the new layout? (If not send me a message!!)

This coming fall, I will be a second year in the College of Arts and Sciences hoping to major in Neuroscience in my third year. Outside of AMSA, I am a research assistant in the Deppmann Lab, the Community Chair of CSA, Publicity Chair of ASU, and a volunteer for Special Olympics through Madison House. I may have first joined AMSA because of their promises of free pizza, but AMSA is truly a great organization. AMSA has given me a lot of valuable information to become more passionate in the medical field. It's a strong student-led organization that offers a lot of opportunities for future medical students.

As your new webmaster, I will work hard to keep the website a vital resource in knowing about future events and activites that AMSA has to offer. If you have any complaints, suggestions, or even if you just want to talk, don't be afraid to shoot me an email! Let's make this year the best one for AMSA!