Wanting to explore more about the field of medicine, Krishna Thakker (11) started MedX in Nov. 2020. Through the club, she started an annual card drive dedicated to medical professionals. 

“We started this card drive last year to thank medical professionals, and we’re going to continue it as a tradition to honor everyone in the [medical] industry,” Thakker said. “After we delivered more than 1,200 cards last year, we knew we had to have another drive. We don’t need to have as many cards for this year’s drive to still succeed. We are successful when we deliver uplifting messages to people who need them and make their days a little bit better, even if we are just delivering cards.”

With this year’s drive ending Feb. 14, Thakker was excited to deliver more than 250 cards to EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians), who Thakker chose for personal reasons.

“A while back, there was a fire near [my] neighborhood that could be seen from [my] house,” Thakker said. “My family watched as within like a minute there was a fire truck and an ambulance, and [EMTs] were helping people out of the house and treating them. It was so amazing and quick and fast, and to me, I felt like it was a really big job, and I just felt like they should get [a little extra] appreciation.”

Thakker hoped that moving this years  card drive to Valentine’s Day would encourage people to show their appreciation for EMTs during the season of love.

“We had another event going on during winter break, so we had to move the card drive to Valentine’s Day,” Thakker said. “We thought it would be another good time because Valentine’s Day isn’t only for couples to celebrate. You can not only show love for your significant other, but you can also show how much you care for and appreciate the people who do so much for you.”

Thakker said that the goal of MedX is to inform students interested in medicine about various diseases, conditions, and the details of the medical profession. According to her, helping make a difference in the community is also a sub goal of the club and its activities.

“We organized a medical science fair over winter break, to help teach elementary school students about medicine and what doctors and nurses do,” Thakker said. “Each little booth we put together had a theme, and we tried to keep the kids entertained while helping them learn something. For something we’ve never done before, I think we did a good job, and maybe even helped the kids learn about medicine.”

The goal to help the community was partially inspired by a comment Thakker read after the club’s first card drive, and is something she still remembers. 

“Last year, we had emails from doctors saying that it made their day better, and it’s so amazing to know [the cards] made a difference,” Thakker said. “[The] Scripps [nonprofit organization] posted on Instagram about our efforts, and in one of the comments there was a respiratory therapist, and what she said stood out to me so much that I can almost still quote it. She said something like the cutest cards and notes make the shifts more bearable.”

MedX has mailed its cards from this year’s drive, and awaits responses from EMTs. Thakker hope to hear more uplifting messages like that of respiratory therapist, Eileen Larson, a recipient of last year’s cards, who left a message for MedX.

“I read some of these during my lunch break,” Larson said. “It definitely is inspiring to have our community supporting us. The cutest notes and pictures make the shift more bearable at times. Thank you for sharing how wonderful our community is.”