The Medical Student Executive Councils (MSEC) of New York and Qatar held their second joint government meeting on Saturday, June 19, in New York. Osama Al Saeed, Jehan Al Ravahi and Ibrahim Sultan, three members of the newly formed MSEC-Qatar student government, are involved in research projects in Manhattan and Ithaca this summer.
"We discussed how to integrate our locations from the students' perspective," said Sultan, who serves as the organization's president. "It was encouraging to see our fellow students in New York were equally excited."
"I have gotten to know the students from Qatar during my visits there, but I knew that for our locations to grow closer together, we should all first get to know each other," said Joe Habboushe, Weill Cornell student overseer, explaining the purpose of the joint government meetings.
Included in discussions was the Student Technology Committee (STC), a newly formed student organization that is the first group to encompass both locations. The committee, which was jointly founded by students from WCMC-New York (including Joe Habboushe and Neil Shah) and WCMC-Qatar (including Yasir Tarabichi and Mohammed Al Rayahi), has greatly modernized and expanded the roles of Weill Cornell's student Web sites.
Anuj Mehta, first-year class president of Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, is working with Sultan on the newest joint effort—a "Big Buddy" program. "We want to create a 'Big Buddy' program between second-years in New York and first-years in Qatar," explained Mehta. "Modeled after the program already in existence in New York, this program will hopefully give the Qatari students a resource and a friend they can turn to with questions." Buddies may soon meet via videoconferencing, as proposals have been made to establish telecommunication pods that are easily accessible to students.