One of the most important things to Ross Medical Education Center campuses is building strong relationships with local organizations. Recently in October, the Ross campus in Lafayette, Indiana invited representatives from their local YWCA of Greater Lafayette to come in and put on an informative and interactive presentation for the entire student body. Due to the fact that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the YWCA came in very prepared with props and character role-plays to help to unlock the acting skills of the Ross students.
The visit and activities were led by Kim Lanoue, Patient Navigator for the Women’s Cancer Program at the YWCA. Lanoue served as the keynote speaker for the event, but she also received some help from Ross students. The strudents worked together to act out a skit to highlight all of the reasons to get breast cancer screenings and take other measures to keep healthy. The skit starred a variety of students including:
- Machell Adams, Medical Assistant program, as Granny Smith
- Natasha Briggs, Dental Assistant program, as Busy Beatrice
- Lindsey Francis, Medical Assistant program, as Risky Rita
- Karri Gallichan, Medical Assistant program, as Low Budget Laura
- Baily Harris, Dental Assistant program, as Misinformed Melissa
- Kenzie Patterson, Medical Assistant program, as Flat Fern
- Tameca Phillips, Dental Assistant program, as Cleopatra “Queen of Denial”
- Mary Torres, Medical Assistant program, as Confident Connie
The goal of the day was to educate the student body as well as the faculty and staff on the importance and benefits of getting screenings completed at no cost. “Our actresses gave every excuse in the book, however the YWCA had the right answer for all of them!” shared Tim Hula, Lafayette Campus Director. “Thank you for volunteering and having fun promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month!”