“It makes a significant difference when you see a medical professional who resembles the way you look,” says Sanan Ansar, a student at John Dewey HS in Gravesend, Brooklyn. He’s not alone in his thinking.

While learning remotely at the beginning of the 2020–21 school year, Ansar and a group of fellow students in the school’s premedical academy approached teacher Sarah Howell with an idea: They wanted to found a club that would help students of color, who are traditionally underrepresented in the field, pursue their interests in medicine.

“The goal is to give students the skills to help them pursue their professional goals and a better understanding of diversity in the field,” says Howell, a science teacher.

Howell and her students launched the Dewey Medical Explorers Club in a Google Classroom and met remotely each week. The virtual format allowed Howell to recruit guest speakers from all over the country, such as a cardiac surgeon who spoke to the students from California.

“Students were able to ask questions about whether their identity affected how they were treated as physicians and about what they could do now as high schoolers to prepare for a career in medicine,” said Howell.

Students also collaborated on projects. Their main focus was a large-scale research investigation into how the pandemic and remote learning affected students’ mental health. Howell worked with students to develop a schoolwide survey and to analyze the nearly 500 responses.

Club members shared their conclusions in a video presentation for Dewey students and staff in June 2021. They also had several ideas for the 2021–22 school year, recommending to teachers and administrators the creation of an outdoor eating space for lunch and more opportunities for participation in social-emotional learning. Both suggestions were already part of the school’s reopening plan, and the data from the club’s research helped solidify the reopening team’s decisions.

With students back in the school building this year, a group of about 20 students from all grades now meets in person once a week. The club is expanding its research project to investigate how the pandemic changed students’ sleep patterns and how students have adjusted to their return to the school building.

The club has been an important outlet for students whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic.

“It was a challenge to start the club, but it became a success with the help of an amazing team who also became my greatest friends,” said Ansar, the club president. “That idea has materialized into a community.”