Saturday, Sept. 14
8:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. | Alumni Weekend Registration
Location: University Conference Center Lobby, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
When you arrive on campus, please visit our check-in headquarters to receive your Alumni Weekend nametag and printed resources.
9 – 10:30 a.m. | Alumni & Student Career Mentoring Breakfast
Location: University Conference Center Tent, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
Share your experiences and advice with current medical students as they explore their many career options! You will be seated with students who are interested in your chosen career path during this casual networking breakfast. Learn about how the classroom environment has changed in recent years and share your experiences with students about life after medical school.
Pre-registration required.
9 a.m. – 2 p.m. | Penn State College of Medicine Bookstore Pop-Up Shop
Location: University Conference Center Lobby, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
10:45 – 11:45 a.m. | Intersections of Global Health: Exploring Culture, Equity and Health Systems
Location: University Conference Center, 302A, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
Penn State College of Medicine's unique four-year Global Health Scholars Pathway enrolls one-third of each medical student class, offering students transformative learning opportunities on every continent. Building off the College of Medicine's robust health systems sciences and medical humanities curricula, two month-long immersions combined with guided learning activities aim to develop future physicians who are equitable and person-centered in their practice.
As we expand to include new rural communities in Pennsylvania, join us for a student panel and short presentations. These sessions will highlight the interplay of culture, environment, and unique national health systems worldwide. Join our expert panel for a discussion about how medical education has changed and evolved over the years. Get an inside view of the curriculum, training, and challenges our current students and future clinicians are experiencing today. Share your own experiences, ask questions, and learn about how you might be able to get involved to help our students excel.
Presented by:
- Benjamin Fredrick, MD ’00
Director, Global Health Center
Doctors Kienle Chair for Humane Medicine
Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Public Health Sciences and Humanities
Penn State College of Medicine
- Leesha Helm, MD, MPH, R ’19
Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine
Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center
Associate Director, Global Health Pathway
Director, Rural Scholars Pathway
Medical Director, Beacon Free Clinic for Health and Hope, Harrisburg
Noon – 1 p.m. | A Disordered Dream of a Physician, Scientist, Inventor, and Businessperson
Location: University Conference Center, 302BC, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
Dream big and hold those dreams close. The path forward reflects looking out the window and seeing what could be there. During medical school at Hershey, I became a physician, and an oath was taken with an obligation to heal. Becoming a scientist, you have dreams; as an inventor, you have opportunities; and as a businessperson you become an architect. If you can put each part together the circle of opportunities close. The opportunities began here at Hershey.
Presented by:
- Howard Gendelman, MD '79
Margaret R. Larson Professor of Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases
Chair, Department of Pharmacology and Experimental Neuroscience
Director, Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders
University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, Nebraska
Campus Tours
11 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. and Noon – 1:15 p.m.
Pre-registration is required.
This campus tour will showcase old gems and new highlights on campus. Enjoy seeing how things have evolved since your days in Hershey. This tour will also provide participants a behind-the-scenes tour of the shared- service core research facilities that provide specialized instrumentation and analytical services for the conduct of basic, clinical and translational research. Comfortable walking shoes are recommended.
1 – 3 p.m. | All Alumni Picnic
Location: University Conference Center Tent, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
All alumni and their families are invited to celebrate the blue and white with good food and fun at this popular annual event. We especially encourage the reunion classes to gather and celebrate with their classmates!
Pre-registration required; $25 per person, $5 for children ages 3-12.
3:00 p.m.–6:00 p.m. | Penn State College of Medicine Student Game Club Extra Life Event
Location: University Conference Center, 302ABC, 30 Conference Drive, Hershey, PA 17033
All alumni are welcome to join current College of Medicine Game Club students as they Game for Good for Children's Miracle Network Extra Life. Alumni can sit and relax, play a game, and learn about student interests, all while supporting a worthwhile cause. The College of Medicine Game Club has a goal of $100 and all funds go back to Penn State Health Children's Hospital.
No registration required; a donation is encouraged to the Game Club Extra Life page, which will be provided.
3 – 4 p.m. | Life Lion Tour
Tour the Life Lion hangar and learn more about the 24/7 lifesaving services that are offered throughout Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, Lebanon, York, Lancaster, Berks and Franklin counties. The tour is subject to cancellation if the full fleet is out on calls.
6 – 9 p.m. | All Alumni Weekend Celebration Reception and Dinner
Location: Hershey Lodge and Convention Center, Cocoa Ballroom, 325 University Dr, Hershey, PA 17033
The Celebration Reception and Dinner will be the highlight of the weekend! It includes the induction of members of the Classes of 1974 and 1994 into the Pioneer and Crescent Societies and recognition of the 2024 Berlin Service Award recipient. The evening will provide you with one more chance to reconnect with alumni, faculty and former and current leaders.
Pre-registration required; $75 per person.
