Marvel Hazel: From Novice to FECAMDS(Federation of Catholic Medical and Dental Students) PRESIDENT(An interesting read)





You know how people say "I had a dream of becoming something, I worked for it and it came through'. I wish that was my story. I never actually dreamt of becoming FECAMDS president or holding any serious position. I had interest in the political affairs of medical associations, but I never really imagined becoming a serious player.

I just felt it wasn't for me. My parents stressed the importance of maintaining a low profile and doing your thing. I thought telling them I wanted to run for presidency wouldn't sit well with them.

Now let me tell you guys a story about my rise to becoming a bona fide FECAMDSITE and eventually leading the great association.

I didn't really know much about FECAMDS when I was in basic, rather I wasn't active until late 300 level. Dr Cynthia, a former president came to me personally, wooing me to attend a prayer summit hosted in Campus. Looking for ways to avoid attending, I told her I did not have money to pay for the programme. To my greatest surprise, she immediately opted to pay half of the fees. Omo, I knew immediately that this was 'God' calling me to join the FECAMDS family actively.

The prayer summit was a huge success, exposing me to students from other schools(Delsu, Uniben, etc).

I met the multi talented 'Fada Kay' for the first time in that programme and he truly inspired me.

A movie I watched in that event also helped me in making the decision to become fully active in FECAMDS. 'God friended me' is the name of the movie and y'all should check it out.

I became active in FECAMDS after the prayer summit and getting to clinicals, I wanted to be the next mission secretary. On the election day, a friend of mine who wanted to nominate me for the post of mission secretary got a call and left the auditorium(Omo, that kind thing). Last last, I didn't get mission secretary.

Taking a bold step, I asked the 'ELECOM' if I could nominate myself for a post. They granted permission and I nominated myself for Presidency(mad rai?).

Tbvh, I didn't even know the role of Presidency in FECAMDS at that time. All I knew was that I wanted to dedicate myself to God and serve FECAMDS to the best of my ability.

I got elected as president of FECAMDS. Yes, just like that.

Initially, I doubted my ability to do the work. Plenty plenty people told me I will end up killing the association. I prayed like mad for divine direction. I asked God to lead using me and my excos.

James 1:5 says "If any of lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. This is exactly what I did.

So, quick advice, If you are clueless or confused about anything, just ask God for wisdom. He will direct you.

Also, the best way to know what's ahead is to ask those who have been there. I always asked the past presidents for advice and met with my Mentor and Alumni Dr Obasuyi, anytime I was in a difficult situation. God bless them.

Dr. Emmanuel(one time president of Fecamds) called me after the election and asked what I wanted to do for the Family. Trying to impress him, I said plenty things. He just told me "Make sure you increase the activeness of members". This shaped my whole tenure. Every project embarked on was aimed at increasing the activeness of members and bringing in new members.

Let me hype my administration small and list out some of our achievements;

1- We launched a website dedicated to FECAMDS (www.Fecamds-aau.com.ng)Students can get easy access to medical books, journals, materials, and other information about FECAMDS. Check it out today.

2- We started a magazine "The horizon". Dr. Cynthia is actually the vision bearer of this project. I'm happy we brought it to life during my tenure.

'The horizon' is an informative, educative and entertaining magazine that features interviews with top personalities, articles, riddles and jokes, etc. You can check it out here(www.Fecamds-aau.com.ng).

3- Following the vision statement of FECAMDS(prayer, mission and academics), Dr. Joachim(mission secretary) and Sis. Josephine during our administration organised mandatory 'prayer and fasting' at least once a month. We also organised village outreaches, Orphanage Outreach, hospital visits, secondary schools visits and others.

The academic secretary, Bro Great organized tutorials, mentorship programs and quizzes in the various classes. Airtime was awarded to winners. We held academic seminars and picnics which over 100 persons attended.

Mock exams were organised for classes preparing for exams. Scripts were marked, recorded and shared. Materials were also photocopied and distributed to FECAMDSITES in some classes for free.

4- We didn't allow the covid-19 pandemic prevent us from from doing God's work and wooing more people to join the family.

We created group chats for classes in basic and conducted quizzes regularly in order to encourage them to read harder. Gifts in cash and kind were also awarded.

5- We bought gifts for comrades who got married, sent Airtime to FECAMDSITES celebrating their birthdays and contributed a little token to our members who lost their loved ones(may their souls rest in peace)- Amen.

6- We organized 'graphics design' classes for FECAMDSITES who were interested in learning online skills. We did this to empower FECAMDSITES and give them a fresh source of income.

7- We organised zoom meetings with alumni in diaspora in an attempt to sharpen our mind on life after school especially those who wants to japa.

8- We were extremely transparent with our spending, accounting for every penny. God bless the financial secretary, Sis. Joan.

We did all these and more in an attempt to make the association very attractive to new members and we can see the result today. We raised an army in basic and my classmates became very active. Turning up for me.

It won't be fair taking all the glory. Sincerely, I was blessed with the best set of Excos. They sacrificed their time, energy and even money.

Great(academic secretary) never collected a dime for t-fare from FECAMDS for his numerous visits to basic. God bless you bro.

Ella(welfare secretary) would refund every penny remaining after any event and sometimes sacrifice her own money. God bless you sis.

Sis. Alice would leave everything she is doing and come to clinics for outreach, there was a time only me and she went for one outreach, it was impromptu and we needed to meet up with the national's deadline.

Dr. Cy(Ex-officio) designed the first FECAMDS AAU magazine for free. Her advice and unparalleled support kept me in the right track. She also made her jottings available to us for photocopying during exams which I did and distributed it to FECAMDSITES for free. God bless you Chief.

There was this bond FECAMDS had with CMDA during my tenure and it was as a result of my relationship with Bro. Daniel Asogun(CMDA president during my tenure). He acted as my elder brother and supported me in every way. He went as far as attending our programmes. God bless you bro.

The general secretary(Bro Sammy) added his money to FECAMDS donations anytime we donated in church. Thank you and God bless you sir.

The financial secretary(Joan) who always quizzed me anytime I needed to withdraw money. She made sure every dime was accounted for and well spent. Thank you sis.

The P.R.O (Bro Francis (current President)) is actually a selfless individual and a God bless to FECAMDS, he made sure information got to every crannies, he created an Instagram page for that and also made sure all important materials we needed to pass exams got to every member of our class. God bless you bro

My Chaplain, classmates, senior colleagues, Patrons and Alumni who believed in me, advised me, supported me financially and prayed for me throughout my tenure, I am truly grateful.

My beautiful Scientist Celebobo. You may be with the Lord but you are forever in our hearts. Your dedication to FECAMDS and support for me kept me going. May your soul rest in perfect peace Chief. Maybe one day, Mother Nigeria will stop eating her children.

Looking back, I wouldn't have dreamt of achieving all these things the day I got elected without the support of every FECAMDSITES. You all made it possible for this *NOVICE* to have a smooth and successful tenure.

The people who thought I would kill FECAMDS came back to apologise and commended my administration( The best feeling).

Being President of FECAMDS impacted my life positively in every aspect; making me more responsible and mature. I pledge to remain loyal to FECAMDS family and keep serving her in every possible way.

Thank you and God bless you for reading.

Marvel Hazel out and drops the pen�Marvel Hazel: From Novice to FECAMDS PRESIDENT(An interesting read)





You know how people say "I had a dream of becoming something, I worked for it and it came through'. I wish that was my story. I never actually dreamt of becoming FECAMDS president or holding any serious position. I had interest in the political affairs of medical associations, but I never really imagined becoming a serious player.

I just felt it wasn't for me. My parents stressed the importance of maintaining a low profile and doing your thing. I thought telling them I wanted to run for presidency wouldn't sit well with them.

Now let me tell you guys a story about my rise to becoming a bona fide FECAMDSITE and eventually leading the great association.

I didn't really know much about FECAMDS when I was in basic, rather I wasn't active until late 300 level. Dr Cynthia, a former president came to me personally, wooing me to attend a prayer summit hosted in Campus. Looking for ways to avoid attending, I told her I did not have money to pay for the programme. To my greatest surprise, she immediately opted to pay half of the fees. Omo, I knew immediately that this was 'God' calling me to join the FECAMDS family actively.

The prayer summit was a huge success, exposing me to students from other schools(Delsu, Uniben, etc).

I met the multi talented 'Fada Kay' for the first time in that programme and he truly inspired me.

A movie I watched in that event also helped me in making the decision to become fully active in FECAMDS. 'God friended me' is the name of the movie and y'all should check it out.

I became active in FECAMDS after the prayer summit and getting to clinicals, I wanted to be the next mission secretary. On the election day, a friend of mine who wanted to nominate me for the post of mission secretary got a call and left the auditorium(Omo, that kind thing). Last last, I didn't get mission secretary.

Taking a bold step, I asked the 'ELECOM' if I could nominate myself for a post. They granted permission and I nominated myself for Presidency(mad rai?).

Tbvh, I didn't even know the role of Presidency in FECAMDS at that time. All I knew was that I wanted to dedicate myself to God and serve FECAMDS to the best of my ability.

I got elected as president of FECAMDS. Yes, just like that.

Initially, I doubted my ability to do the work. Plenty plenty people told me I will end up killing the association. I prayed like mad for divine direction. I asked God to lead using me and my excos.

James 1:5 says "If any of lack wisdom, let him ask of God that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not and it shall be given him. This is exactly what I did.

So, quick advice, If you are clueless or confused about anything, just ask God for wisdom. He will direct you.

Also, the best way to know what's ahead is to ask those who have been there. I always asked the past presidents for advice and met with my Mentor and Alumni Dr Obasuyi, anytime I was in a difficult situation. God bless them.

Dr. Emmanuel(one time president of Fecamds) called me after the election and asked what I wanted to do for the Family. Trying to impress him, I said plenty things. He just told me "Make sure you increase the activeness of members". This shaped my whole tenure. Every project embarked on was aimed at increasing the activeness of members and bringing in new members.

Let me hype my administration small and list out some of our achievements;

1- We launched a website dedicated to FECAMDS (www.Fecamds-aau.com.ng)Students can get easy access to medical books, journals, materials, and other information about FECAMDS. Check it out today.

2- We started a magazine "The horizon". Dr. Cynthia is actually the vision bearer of this project. I'm happy we brought it to life during my tenure.

'The horizon' is an informative, educative and entertaining magazine that features interviews with top personalities, articles, riddles and jokes, etc. You can check it out here(www.Fecamds-aau.com.ng).

3- Following the vision statement of FECAMDS(prayer, mission and academics), Dr. Joachim(mission secretary) and Sis. Josephine during our administration organised mandatory 'prayer and fasting' at least once a month. We also organised village outreaches, Orphanage Outreach, hospital visits, secondary schools visits and others.

The academic secretary, Bro Great organized tutorials, mentorship programs and quizzes in the various classes. Airtime was awarded to winners. We held academic seminars and picnics which over 100 persons attended.

Mock exams were organised for classes preparing for exams. Scripts were marked, recorded and shared. Materials were also photocopied and distributed to FECAMDSITES in some classes for free.

4- We didn't allow the covid-19 pandemic prevent us from from doing God's work and wooing more people to join the family.

We created group chats for classes in basic and conducted quizzes regularly in order to encourage them to read harder. Gifts in cash and kind were also awarded.

5- We bought gifts for comrades who got married, sent Airtime to FECAMDSITES celebrating their birthdays and contributed a little token to our members who lost their loved ones(may their souls rest in peace)- Amen.

6- We organized 'graphics design' classes for FECAMDSITES who were interested in learning online skills. We did this to empower FECAMDSITES and give them a fresh source of income.

7- We organised zoom meetings with alumni in diaspora in an attempt to sharpen our mind on life after school especially those who wants to japa.

8- We were extremely transparent with our spending, accounting for every penny. God bless the financial secretary, Sis. Joan.

We did all these and more in an attempt to make the association very attractive to new members and we can see the result today. We raised an army in basic and my classmates became very active. Turning up for me.

It won't be fair taking all the glory. Sincerely, I was blessed with the best set of Excos. They sacrificed their time, energy and even money.

Great(academic secretary) never collected a dime for t-fare from FECAMDS for his numerous visits to basic. God bless you bro.

Ella(welfare secretary) would refund every penny remaining after any event and sometimes sacrifice her own money. God bless you sis.

Sis. Alice would leave everything she is doing and come to clinics for outreach, there was a time only me and she went for one outreach, it was impromptu and we needed to meet up with the national's deadline.

Dr. Cy(Ex-officio) designed the first FECAMDS AAU magazine for free. Her advice and unparalleled support kept me in the right track. She also made her jottings available to us for photocopying during exams which I did and distributed it to FECAMDSITES for free. God bless you Chief.

There was this bond FECAMDS had with CMDA during my tenure and it was as a result of my relationship with Bro. Daniel Asogun(CMDA president during my tenure). He acted as my elder brother and supported me in every way. He went as far as attending our programmes. God bless you bro.

The general secretary(Bro Sammy) added his money to FECAMDS donations anytime we donated in church. Thank you and God bless you sir.

The financial secretary(Joan) who always quizzed me anytime I needed to withdraw money. She made sure every dime was accounted for and well spent. Thank you sis.

The P.R.O (Bro Francis (current President)) is actually a selfless individual and a God bless to FECAMDS, he made sure information got to every crannies, he created an Instagram page for that and also made sure all important materials we needed to pass exams got to every member of our class. God bless you bro

My Chaplain, classmates, senior colleagues, Patrons and Alumni who believed in me, advised me, supported me financially and prayed for me throughout my tenure, I am truly grateful.

My beautiful Scientist Celebobo. You may be with the Lord but you are forever in our hearts. Your dedication to FECAMDS and support for me kept me going. May your soul rest in perfect peace Chief. Maybe one day, Mother Nigeria will stop eating her children.

Looking back, I wouldn't have dreamt of achieving all these things the day I got elected without the support of every FECAMDSITES. You all made it possible for this *NOVICE* to have a smooth and successful tenure.

The people who thought I would kill FECAMDS came back to apologise and commended my administration( The best feeling).

Being President of FECAMDS impacted my life positively in every aspect; making me more responsible and mature. I pledge to remain loyal to FECAMDS family and keep serving her in every possible way.

Read more at
https://www.premiumnews.com.ng/2022/11/marvel-hazel-journey-from-novice-to.html