By Aleah James – Staff Reporter

Jonathan Law’s Medical Alliance Club recently explored the historic hospital grounds of Ellis Island on a memorable field trip.

The Medical Alliance Club represents community service, professional exploration and ambition. On the trip, Medical Alliance Club President Alivia Bogert and her peers were able to connect history to science, understand where modern medicine began, and visualize what a future medical career could look like.

“Our recent field trip is aligned with the club’s goals to learn about hospitals and how they work,” Bogert said. “On our trip to Ellis Island we got to explore the old hospital and learned all about how things used to be done and how they controlled illnesses back then. It was super intriguing to see how far along hospitals have come.”

The Medical Alliance Club, led by Advisor Ms. Addario, meets every Monday after school to engage in healthcare initiatives ranging from planning fundraisers to coordinating hospital donations.

These meetings include hands-on community service, where members organize seasonal outreach projects, such as delivering personal care packages to veterans at the VA hospital in West Haven.

“I was inspired to join the club because I am interested in a future in medicine,” sophomore Isla McKeand said. “By joining the club, I have become more involved in healthcare-related extracurriculars. I would encourage anyone interested in healthcare to join.”

As president, Bogert has spent the past two years working to establish foundational partnerships with local healthcare institutions, eventually securing a summer volunteer program at the VA hospital to let students work alongside active professionals.

“The biggest challenge at first was finding the relationships with hospitals to give students a relationship to medical science,” Alivia said. “However, over the past two years we have made some great relationships.”

The club views their recent achievement as a finalist at the 37th annual Mayor’s Youth Awards as motivation for the upcoming school year.

While the field requires rigorous preparation, the students emphasize that the real-world connection and the historical perspective are the most exciting aspects of being a part of the team.

The Medical Alliance Club is scheduled to expand its community initiatives and plans to return to Ellis Island next year.

“It really was a cool experience,” McKeand said. “It allowed me to connect topics I was learning in my history classes to the history of science.”