Membership in the new African Student Association at UMass Chan Medical School requires acknowledging cultural differences in order to provide better care for diverse patients, and a desire to connect and celebrate each member’s African identity.
“There is a common ground and experience where we come into a space, and we expect to be the only African student or part of a small group of African students. Once we saw that we are part of a larger group here at UMass Chan, we started to ask how we can share the customs we carry along and how can we celebrate, and show importance and value to these things,” said Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing student Elizabeth Osa-Agbontaen. “Within this community, we found ourselves and each other.”
“We’re trying to create a sense of community, not just for the students with African roots, but to invite other people to improve their understanding about our customs, religions and needs.”
Osa-Agbontaen, a first-year DNP student and African Student Association co-president, is from Nigeria. It took her more than a year to officially launch the student organization, but since its debut last fall, the group has quickly grown thanks to the community it’s working toward creating.
The African Student Association held its first official meeting in November and earlier this month hosted a celebration of Black History Month with a trivia night identifying influential and important Black figures.
The group has recruited more than 35 student members from the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and the Morningside Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences. Most members are of African descent.
“People may ask ‘Why are you doing this? Why is this so important?’ It’s because we’re being trained to be providers and the community we live in is diverse,” Osa-Agbontaen said. “We’re trying to create a sense of community, not just for the students with African roots, but to invite other people to improve their understanding about our customs, religions and needs.”
“As students, future providers and current providers, this approach to learning about other cultures could make a huge difference in the care we give,” she added.
Akwasi A. Duah, RN, PhD’17, director of the Graduate Entry Pathway Program, is the group’s faculty advisor.
Anyone interested in joining the African Student Association or with questions can email the group at umasschanasa@umassmed.edu.
