OMSA Student of the Month of February 2014 - Matthew Church

Matthew Church, a second year student from Queen's University, is not your typical medical student. In addition to studying (cramming) for midterms last semester, Matthew was also preparing for his debut on Jeopardy. Balancing this heavy workload however, did not prevent him from also finding time to get engaged in the Queen's University community.

Matthew's December performance on Jeopardy was outstanding – he won two episodes and a total of $31,000, earning the title of "Jeopardy Champion". What is really outstanding though, is that Matthew was a wonderful representative of Canadian medical students on the world stage. His positive, polite demeanor, sportsmanship, and impressive knowledge base were all showcased to Jeopardy’s international audience and were a reflection of the many great attributes possessed by Canadian medical students. It was exciting to watch Matthew’s success on Jeopardy, and it was truly an honour to have him represent us Canadian medical students. 

His involvement in the Queen's Health and Human Rights Conference last semester demonstrates his skills as a collaborator and an advocate. During conference committee meetings, Matthew worked with the team to lead the conference to success. By organizing the conference's web and social media presence, Matthew was able to spread the word and information presented at the conference to a much larger audience.

Matthew never fails to provide tutelage to the first year medical students, providing study tips and advice about how to succeed academically. He is also there for his own classmates, like when he coached his class to victory in the inter-class medicine basketball game.  

As Queen's CFMS Government Affairs & Advocacy Committee representative, Matthew is a strong advocate for Canadian health care policy. Matthew inspires his peers to not only inform themselves about Canadian healthcare policies, but to also get involved and help shape policies in order to provide Canadians with the best health care system possible. Matthew is also an important advocate and collaborator in the Queen's Medicine student government, the Aesculapian Society, and leads meetings as the organization’s Speaker.

These are just some of the reasons why Matthew Church goes above-and-beyond what is expected of a medical student. Matthew is an exceptional role model and inspiration to others, and for this reason, he has been selected as OMSA's February's Ontario Medical Student of the Month.