Standing side by side with their U.S. peers, international medical school students proudly represented their colleges at the 2011 American Medical Student Association (AMSA) National Convention, from March 10th to March 13th. Prominent among them, Belson Kuriakose attended as the delegation for American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine. 

Kuriakose holds the AUA seat in AMSA’s National House of Delegates, the governing body for the Association. During the conference’s House session, he was granted permission to represent the international student body, and lobbied tirelessly for the interests of AUA and its fellow international schools in front of his peers. He continued to serve as AUA’s ambassador, this time to prospective students, at an informational booth in the exhibition hall.

The experience served to renew Kuriakose’s resolve to excel as a student and a representative of international medical education. “[W]e as students sometimes forget our mission and objective,” Kuriakose wrote in an open letter to the University. “But being able to represent AUA and attend this conference along with medical students of other distinguish[ed] medical schools … allowed me to see a better view of what I am battling for.”

According to its website, “AMSA is a student-governed, national organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. AMSA members are medical students, premedical students, interns, residents, and practicing physicians. Founded in 1950, AMSA continues its commitment to improving medical training and the nation’s health.”