No Vegging Out for This Student

How do you grow a community?

With a garden, of course.

Adnan Raslan (AD-nin RAZ-lin), a second-year College of Medicine student, started a community garden last year with fellow medicine student Austin Hilt. This year, he hopes it will continue to sprout.

The project began as a recycling initiative of the student organization Physicians for Social Responsibility —‘’a really cool group” that Raslan discovered when he came to the University. Sure, he has a garden at his own home, but he imagined a place where students living at The Village (or anyone connected with NEOMED) could plant and pick. Last year, there was more produce than anyone knew what to do with—a good problem to have.

Raslan was pleased with the way the University supported the club when its members asked to start the garden. He went through the NEOMED Student Council to get funding, and he found that everyone there was on board.

“What makes me proud to be a part of NEOMED is the community that NEOMED has. The garden we have is another platform in which community is a huge aspect of it….It’s not just me and Austin’s garden, it’s everybody’s—the College of Medicine, the College of Pharmacy, the faculty, if they’d like to be a part of it,’’ says Raslan.

Growing the next group of physicians

So far, one of the best ways Raslan has gotten to know others in the community of medicine has been through various student interest groups, which bring in physicians for the students to meet. Initially, he might have thought of physicians as existing on a higher plane, but when they come in and talk, they are down to earth, says Raslan.

“They have their hobbies, they have their things they talk about outside of medicine, and then they make medicine a part of their life. They really, really like their lives and enjoy medicine being a part of their lives.”

“It kind of really makes you excited to be in their position.’’