Owen Kahn

UConn School of Medicine Class of 2016

I was raised in Granby, Conn. and received a B.S. in molecular and cellular biology with a minor in physiology and neurobiology from UConn. I have been a member of the Collegiate Health Service Corps (CHSC) since 2010, and held the role of student director of the CHSC in my senior year at UConn. The CHSC is a group of students that provides health education and outreach to underserved populations in Willimantic – the urban core of Windham, Conn. As a member, I volunteered at Plant Group Farm for one semester educating migrant workers, and then in Windham Middle School’s after school program for one year, educating 6th – 8th grade students. As the student director, I worked with AHEC leaders as well as my co-leaders in order to coordinate the most effective and influential outreach in the community. The mission of the CHSC is not only to provide outreach to underserved people in need, but also to educate the volunteers on the issues that face populations with medical disparities so that, in the future, those volunteers will be better prepared to provide health care to more appropriately and effectively address their problems. As a graduate of that program, I desired to stay committed to that mission and continue my learning about the complexities of providing health care – the Urban Service Track seemed like a perfect opportunity for that.