“Being surrounded by medicine inspired me to start Project MedMagnified.”

Pooja Ramadas: “Throughout my childhood, I was surrounded by medicine and medical technology. My brother, grandfather, and aunt all have hearing impairments and wear hearing aids to improve their hearing. Additionally, my grandfather deals with glaucoma, sleep apnea, and high blood pressure. When I was younger, I often accompanied my parents on doctor’s visits for my grandparents, and I helped take care of my grandfather’s health by regularly doing his eye drops and checking his blood pressure. These early experiences in medicine stimulated my interest in the medical field. In school, I found myself gravitating towards science and math, and I loved learning about human biology. 

In high school, I began taking part in summer programs to develop my knowledge of scientific research and the medical profession as an aspiring pediatrician. However, I noticed that many of these programs cost hundreds, even thousands of dollars, and I realized that many others students aren’t able to afford these high prices, regardless of how interested they are in it. This inspired me to start Project MedMagnified, an organization that allows all students to learn about medical professions for free, and find out what aspect of the medical field they are interested in.

Every month, Project MedMagnified dives deep into different fields and careers in medicine and provides its members with a detailed view of what that field is like through Instagram infographics. We also have guest speaker medical professionals for each month, so that in addition to learning about the science behind it, you can also hear about experiences and day-to-day lifestyles in each medical profession. So far Project MedMagnified has helped almost 150 students learn about the medical field, and we hope to increase this number in the coming months. Additionally, while learning about medical professions, members of this organization also get the opportunity to help others currently affected by medical conditions. For example, we are currently holding a virtual toy donation drive to help lift the spirits of children at Cottage Children’s Medical Center in Santa Barbara. Project MedMagnified has already had a large impact on our community, but I hope to continue expanding the organization in order to further help students learn about the medical field and develop their own passion for it.”