Our Campus Celebrity for this week is Campbell Veasey, president of the McGill-run club SAMA. Campbell is a U1 student double majoring in Biology and Anthropology with a minor in Social Studies of Medicine. When he’s not busy juggling classes and running SAMA, he enjoys spending time adventuring. Finding mountains to climb, meeting cool people, and bringing his own food to Rez cafeterias are among his favorite hobbies. He also spends his time as a member of the squash team here at McGill. I caught up with Campbell to talk a little bit more about SAMA and what the missions of the club are.
Tina Arani for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): What does SAMA stand for and what is the goal of the club?
Campbell Veasey (CV): SAMA stands for Student Association for Medical Aid. Our goal is to assist in builing sustainable health systems both locally and abroad.
HC McGill: When did you get involved in SAMA?
CV: I started to get involved the first week of my freshman year.
HC McGill: What is your role in SAMA and what are some of your responsibilites?
CV: I’m the president of SAMA this year. My biggest responsibility involves organizing our new project in Ecuador, the Ecuador Water Security Project. Our team is pretty closely connected to the community in the Andes, where there has been a massive increase in water-borne infections and diseases. We went over there to research and analyze these issues. Basically, water is the main vector for a bunch of diseases including gastritis, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis, among others. These diseases are caused by viruses, bacteria, and parasites. The community in Ecuador highlighted their need for a sustainable water treatment system. With the help from our fundraising efforts and Ecuadorian design, we are planning on creating a well-built water treatment center for the entire community. This will give everyone in the community free and clean water.
Photo from past SAMA project in Ethiopia (2013).
HC McGill: What kinds of events does the SAMA team hold?
CV: We have a lot of fundraisers and fun events! We organize a 5k run, charity dinners, sponsored events at night clubs, and we sell samosas.
Members of SAMA at the SAMAzing 5k run last year (2014).
HC McGill: Do you plan on doing anything similar to the work you’re doing in SAMA in your career or after university?
CV: Yeah, definitely. I really want to go into medicine, specifically global health. I love reading about political sociocultural determinants of health. Apart from the immediate biological factors of health, the underlying processes of disease that occur in developing countries really interest me.
HC McGill: How can a McGill student get involved in SAMA?
CV: We have meetings every Wednesday at 6pm. Our first meeting is on September 23 in the Macintyre Medical Building. It will be a fun recruitment meeting with stories and discussion…and FREE treats!
To learn more about SAMA, their projects, and upcoming events, please don’t hestitate to visit their website at http://www.samamcgill.org/.
Images obtained from interviewee and http://www.samamcgill.org/.