CMA Presence at SEEK24 Garners More Members
January 11, 2024
By Dr. Emily Krach
CMA Representatives at SEEK24 (L to R): Conaire Bradfield, Dr. Paul Hruz, Episcopal Advisor Bishop James Conley, Dr. Emily Krach, Monica Mullally and Dr. Dave Stansfield.
What a joy it was to spend the new year recruiting young members to the Catholic Medical Association at SEEK24! Of the 400 booth visitors we encountered, 43 joined CMA during the conference, and many more showed interest in becoming members.
SEEK is a five-day annual conference sponsored by the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS) that draws college students from all over the country –– and abroad –– along with many priests, religious, campus ministers, and Catholics of all ages. This year over 20,000 gathered at the America’s Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis, where St. John Paul II visited in 1999. The theme was “Be the Light,” which is certainly relevant to CMA members, as we strive to be a light in the field of medicine.
CMA was one of the premiere sponsors of SEEK24, and as such, we had a highly visible booth that bordered the central hub for conference attendees. The location of the booth could not have been better! Volunteers at the booth consisted of multiple St. Louis Guild members, including Dr. Dave Stansfield, Dr. Paul Hruz, Dr. Peter Yang and Dr. Malori Mattson. Also working the booth were medical students, Mary Claire Cooke, Maggie Hartman, Conaire Bradfield, along with PA student, Monica Mullally, and myself, Dr. Emily Krach.
Most of the conference attendees we encountered had never heard of CMA. They were excited to learn about the Boot Camp, Novus Medicus, the Annual Educational Conference, and ways to become involved in their local guilds. Those currently applying to medical school participated in mock medical student interviews to practice answering tough ethical questions.
Scanning devices were used to collect emails and other survey information from the attendees, and we plan to follow up with those individuals to remind them about upcoming events and opportunities. At previous SEEK conferences, visitors to the booth were simply invited to consider joining CMA, but this year students were enticed to join by receiving t-shirts and other prizes such as CMA water bottles, hats, and socks, Novus Medicus t-shirts, and physician saint stickers. The t-shirts, emblazoned with “You were not made for comfort, you were made for greatness,” were especially popular. The saint stickers and t-shirts designed by medical student and former FOCUS missionary, Patrick Tavelli, were a huge hit, and multiple people even asked if they could buy the shirts. A poster with a QR code to access the CMA website was available at the booth, and students were able to join and pay their fee that day. Our goal was to acquire 25 new members during the conference, but we nearly doubled that goal with 43 new membership registrations.
Some of the visitors to our booth were not medical students, but they had family members in mind. They were enthusiastic about sharing what they had learned about CMA with their family and friends. Several visitors relayed to us their hesitancy about pursuing a medical career due to a training environment hostile to Catholics. Encouraging these students and letting them know that they are not alone will hopefully influence them to continue the pursuit of medical school.
Priests, seminarians, and sisters stopped by the booth, including one priest who asked about starting a guild in Connecticut. CMA Episcopal Advisor Bishop James Conley of Lincoln also visited the booth and was pleased to hear about our success.
Not only did we spend time interacting with conference attendees at our booth, but we were also able to participate in the morning rosary, Mass, morning concurrent sessions, keynote speakers, and adoration. Keynote speakers included Fr. Mike Schmitz, Dr. Edward Sri, Chris Stefanick, and Sr. Mary Grace, SV. The Wednesday night keynote and adoration service was attended by all those at the conference plus an additional 5,000 people from St. Louis. Attending SEEK was a fruitful experience for all our volunteers.
It would be impossible to individually thank everyone who helped make SEEK24 possible, but I do want to give a special thanks to Dr. Tom McGovern for training me to take over CMA’s involvement in SEEK and for his dedication to our organization in general over the years. Our success at SEEK24 would not have been possible without his tireless efforts.
SEEK25 will be January 1-5, 2025 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Any CMA members who are interested in volunteering at the booth can email me at emily.krach7@gmail.com. Donations to support our outreach at SEEK can be made here. Please make sure to specify “SEEK fund”. Thank you for your continued interest and support of CMA’s Novus Medicus.
