What do you get when pre-health students get together with snacks to play their own version of popular games? MAPS Game Day!

Yesterday evening the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students (MAPS) held their annual semester kick-off event with a game day in place of their usual meeting at 5 p.m. in Hughes-Trigg Promenade A.

MAPS members played a version of Taboo where students tried to guess the word on their card by asking questions. All of the words were health related.

Yasmeen Hanif, a member of the organization and an aspiring pharmacist, said MAPS is a “fun, interactive way to get involved in pre-med programs.” She said she joined the club “since there really isn’t an organization for pharmaceutical students and [MAPS] is the only one she closely identified with.”

Astrud Villareal, a junior MAPS member and pre-med student, said MAPS “helps develop relationships with the community as well as other SMU students.”

According to the club’s president, Melanie Vettimattam, the organization aims to “educate the community about current health disparities” while socializing with other students who share the similar interest of having future careers in health sciences.

Other events MAPS will participate in this semester include a Health Panel Discussion, CPR training, the Health Fair and conferences.

In addition, MAPS works with UT Southwestern Medical School as the organization’s students volunteer there and participate in various conferences the medical school hosts. This semester MAPS will join UT Southwestern students at the annual UTSW Conference and the HPRER Conference that encourages Dallas area school children to get interested in health professions early.

Anyone interested in joining the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students can come to the meetings every other Monday at 5 p.m. in Hughes-Trigg Promenade A.