In the midst of the Covid-19 outbreak and with concern for our Gator Community, the Biology Leadership Circle sponsored a peer messaging contest for undergraduate students in April 2020. The goal was to encourage fellow Gators to practice appropriate social distancing and raise awareness of how to stay safe and healthy during the pandemic.
Among the many excellent entries, the first-place winner — “Do Your Part, Stay One Gator Apart” — was created by a team of freshmen: Joshua Lopez-Scarim, a Biology Pre-Professional major who plans to pursue an M.D.-Ph.D. degree; Adeeb Rashid, a Biomedical Engineering major who plans to attend graduate school in Biomedical Engineering; and Jeffrey Chen, another Biomedical Engineering major who plans to attend medical school.
“We are proud to remind our Gator family to stay safe during these difficult times,” said Joshua said. Professor Marta Wayne, Chair of the Department of Biology, noted, “Since COVID-19 will be with us for the rest of 2020 and maybe longer, this creative work will be an important part of our messaging to help our students protect themselves and by extension the greater Gator community.”
The Biology Leadership Circle was created in 2016. It consists of 10 to 15 alumni and friends from diverse industries such as botany, genetics, technology entrepreneurship, medicine, animal science and environmental sustainability. Its members also include graduate and undergraduate student representatives and the Biology Department Chair. The mission is to advise department leadership, faculty and students; to generate ideas and share best practices; and to grow a network of mentors and expertise beyond the university to enhance the student experience both inside and outside the classroom.