Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Member Spotlight: Jennie Zaugg


My name is Jennie Zaugg and my husband Brian is a fourth year who has chosen to study Ophthalmology.  I grew up in Clearfield Utah where I met Brian during my junior year of high school.  He was one year older than me and our relationship began as just as friends.  It wasn’t until he graduated that we began dating.  We dated during my senior year while he attended Utah State and was planning on majoring in Engineering.  Brian left on a mission after completing a year of schooling.  I went to Weber State and decided to major in Communications.  Shortly before arriving home from his mission Brian decided to change career paths.  He obviously decided he wanted to be a doctor!  At this point I had waited almost two years for him and there was no turning back, but I knew we had a long road ahead of us.  We got married 4 months after he arrived home on August 19, 2004.  Needless to say we have traveled down this long road of medical school together.  We both transferred to the University of Utah.  I completed my degree in Speech Communications with an emphasis in intercultural and interpersonal communications.  Brian graduated with a degree in Biology.  During school and upon graduation I worked at Wells Fargo Bank as a Service Manager.  During our first year of medical school we had our fist child, named Boston.  I worked part time after having Boston. Just before I gave birth to our second son Cooper I quit, to stay at home with our children.  With two little ones and a husband who is rarely home, I have a small amount of free time, but when I do I enjoy reading a good book or playing soccer and basketball with friends.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Book Club: "Left to Tell"


Update: November Book Club Postponed!
Since book club ended up being scheduled the day before Thanksgiving (oops on my part), most people have responded that they will not be able to attend this month (in fact only one person said that would for sure be able to come).  SO we are going to postpone book club.  If you have not already read it, the book we are reading is called, "Left to Tell," by Immaculee Ilibagiza.  We will be meeting to discuss this book on Wednesday, February 23.  If you would like to host this February meeting, please let me know! 

In the meantime, have a wonderful holiday season and look forward to cooking club on January 26th at Natalie DeMill's home; details to follow.

Save the Date: MSA New Year's Social

image via

The Christmas Social has been postponed and will now be held at the first of the year.

More details to follow.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Play Group: Book Baby

For play group this month, we will be meeting at the Anderson-Foothill Library for the Book Baby story and singing time. Meet there at 10:00 am on Tuesday, November 16th.




Anderson-Foothill Library
1135 South 2100 East
Salt Lake City, UT

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Cornbelly's Corn Maze with the Alliance

image via cornbellys.com

Young Moms and Dads and Kids:

Come to Thanksgiving Point on Friday, Oct. 8 to enjoy their famous Cornbelly's Corn Maze!
Spend a fun morning in their mini-maze, on a hay-ride, or in the pumpkin princess playland.  Meet at the entrance to Cornbelly's at 11:00 a.m.  Please bring your own lunch and snacks for the kids.  The Alliance will pay for entrance fees for medical student families and resident families.  Alliance member Lynn Flinders, director of nursing for Utah County Health Department, has gathered together information for you as young parents.

If you have questions, or have a hard time finding us when you get there, please call Ann at 801 360-6638.

Directions to Thanksgiving Point:
FROM THE NORTH: Take I-15 south. Take exit 284 (Alpine/Highland). Turn right and proceed west to the light. Turn left onto Thanksgiving Way and proceed .5 miles to Water Tower Plaza.  For Cornbelly's follow the signs once you get near the Water Tower.  Cornbelly's is located north and west of the Water Tower Plaza.

Monday, October 4, 2010

Member Spotlight: Julie Kiser


My name is Julie Kiser, and my husband Casey is a third year. I was born and raised in Herndon, Virginia. I came out to Utah in 2003 to attend BYU, coming from the east coast Utah was a whole new experience for me! I spent most of my time at BYU in dance classes and working in residential treatment centers for teens until I graduated in 2007. Casey attended the University of Utah for his under grad so our meeting was...different! We met through a group of friends and I agreed upon a first date IF he would take me to the airport the next day (I was going back home for Christmas). After our date we spent endless hours on the phone while I was home causing our families to change phone plans and up our minutes! From then on we were both hooked! We dated for 2 1/2 years before getting married on May 26, 2008 in Virginia. We are currently expecting our first child- a little baby girl- and couldn't be more excited! When Casey is busy on rotations I spend my time attempting to be crafty with friends, working as a dental assistant, watching Greys Anatomy, planning where we are going to travel when we have money one day, and decorating our little nursery!

Member Spotlight: Kati Wagner





Kati grew up on a large ranch in East Texas then graduated from SMU in Dallas with a degree in Advertising.  During the summers while in college, she lived in Green River, UT and guided 5 day rafting trips on the Green and Colorado Rivers.  After college, Kati moved to Park City to ski and enjoy life in the mountains.  Over the next 2 years, she spent time in Florence, Italy attending Apicius Culinary Institute, traveled through Europe with friends then lived in Playa del Carmen, Mexico where she worked in resort sales and enjoyed a beach lifestyle.  The mountains kept calling Kati back to Park City where she stayed after meeting Graham (MS1).  Graham is from Plymouth, MA and had also moved to Park City to ski and bike.  Graham and Kati met through a mutual friend and were married 8/3/08 in Deer Valley.  They are both avid mountain bikers and skiers and couldn't be happier that they are able to stay in Utah for 4 more years!  Last year, Kati started her own floral design business, www.tulipsandthyme.com, and stays busy traveling to design schools throughout the US and Europe to bring innovative floral designs to Utah.  If you or someone you know is in need of flowers for a wedding or event, or a day on the mountain skiing or biking call Kati!  

Play Group: Wheeler Farm


Play group for October is going to be held at Wheeler Farm at 10:30a.m. on Tuesday, October 12th. It 's free and a lot of fun. They do have hay rides and some other fall activiites going on that you can pay a few dollars and participate in if you would like to.


Cooking Club: Recipes using Pumpkin


The cooking club will be meeting on Wednesday, October 20 at 7:00 pm at Melissa Stringham's apartment, 1303 University Village.  The theme for the month is "Recipes using Pumpkin".  Bring your favorite pumpkin recipe to share plus a copy of the recipe.

The book and cooking club normally meet the last Wednesday of each month, but this month it will be meeting the 3rd Wednesday so as not to interfere with Halloween activities.

If anyone is interested in hosting a future book or cooking club meeting, please contact Melissa Stringham at melissa.stringham(at)gmail(dot)com.

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Book Club: "The Help"


The book club will be meeting at Staci Thacker's apartment on Wednesday, September 29 at 7:00 pm.  Staci lives in the Shoreline Ridge apartments (just south of the medical school) in building 825, apartment 3 (directions below). We are reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett.  Hope to see you there!


If you have questions about the book or cooking club, please contact Melissa Stringham at melissa.stringham(at)gmail(dot)com.

Friday, September 3, 2010

Play Group: Hogle Zoo


Come Join Us for A Day at the Zoo!

Thursday, September 9th at 10:30a.m.

Meet in the front of the zoo by the waterfall. Bring a sack lunch.
Everyone is invited!! Please come even if you don't have a pass. We have plenty of people to get you in for free.

***Check your email before you go because it looks like there is a 50% chance of rain. If it is really bad I will email everyone to cancel. If you don't get an email it is still on. Most likely if it is sprinkling I plan to be there.
Thanks!

https://www.hoglezoo.org/


Thursday, September 2, 2010

Opening Social


Hosted by: Seidi Bennet
Location: Bennett Home 1686 Connecticut Drive Salt Lake City, UT
When: Wednesday, September 1, 2010, 6:00PM to 8:00 PM


Please come for a fun night getting to know other medical student spouses!! Dinner will be provided. Limited babysitting will be provided so please only bring your children if other arrangements cannot be made.

Remember to bring your MSA membership dues of $15!!!

President's Message



To quickly introduce myself, I’m Seidi Inouye Bennett, your MSA President for the 2010-2011 school-year. My husband is Danny Bennett, a 4th year , and we have one little 18-month old boy named Charlie. Both Danny and I are originally from Utah (me-Gunnison, Danny-St. George) and we met at BYU through mutual friends. Danny has decided on Internal Medicine and we are both very excited about the many new adventures coming right around the corner.

Wow, can you believe it’s already 2010! I distinctly remember Danny’s white coat ceremony back in 2007, looking at the program, and thinking, “Class of 2011…you’ve got to be kidding me.” But, here we are. Time really does fly, especially when you are having fun. Now you’re probably asking yourself, “How do I have fun when my spouse is gone 24-7?” The answer is, make good friends. That’s it.

I hope this year and your next few years here at the University of Utah, you will be able to make some life-long friends. I am continually amazed at the quality of people that are here at this school.  We can learn so much from each other, have some great times, and make a difference, not only in each other’s lives, but in our community. MSA is a wonderful way to do all that in one single swoop. Honestly, the more involved you become, the more worth it will be.

As I have reflected on the past 3 years, there has been one friend in particular that has made my experience here AMAZING! She left in June when her husband had to start his transitional year. I can’t tell you how sad I’ve been without her! I’ve also realized how special it is to find friends who are in your same situation and with whom you can really connect with. Friendships like that don’t just come around every day and they do NOT form from nothing. They take effort. Please take advantage of your time here. It is your opportunity to reach out, find some amazing friends, and create friendships that will last a lifetime.

Please come and join MSA!! If you have joined, please come to our activities and events. I promise, if you want to, you will make some life-long friends that will make medical school the best years of your life!!!

Meet the Board

Back row: Lindsay Caldwell, Heather Kennington, Megan Warren, Jessica Jackson, Seidi Bennett, Kathleen Alder, Michelle Schmidt, Liz Pratt, Natalie DeMill, Kate Stoker
Front row: Michelle Chestnut, Niki Brimhall, Laurel Brennan, Melanie Hill, Annette Brown, Camie Martin, Melissa Stringham
Not pictured: Melinda Frandsen, Chelsea Lorimer, Erica Wilkinson, Melissa Smith, Sami Jones

President: Seidi Bennett
Vice-President: Jessica Jackson
President-Elect: Natalie DeMill
Treasurer/Vice-President-Elect: Melinda Frandsen
Fundraising: Chelsea Lorimer
Publicity/Membership: Melanie Hill
4th Year Representative/Medical Marriages: Annette Brown
3rd Year Representative: Michelle Schmidt
2nd Year Representative: Elizabeth Pratt
1st Year Representative: Michelle Chestnut
Legislation: Megan Warren
Heath Promotions: Cami Martin
Festival of Trees: Heather Kennington
Social Events: Erica Wilkinson
Special Interest Events: Melissa Smith
Service Co-Chair: Laurel Brennan
Service Co-Chair: Melissa Burrow
Play Group: Sami Jones
Book/Cooking Group: Melissa Stringham
Newsletter: Lindsay Caldwell
Web-Master: Nikki Brimhall
Doctor of the Year: Kate Stoker