The CAP Foundation’s Sparking Interest in Pathology Award offers up to $500 to support medical student-led projects that inspire curiosity about pathology. For Christina Vu, a medical student at  A.T. Still University-Kirksville College of Osteopathic Medicine (ATSU-KCOM), the award funded an interactive Mini Medical School for young students at the Adair County Public Library in Kirksville, MO.

A Mini Medical School with Maximum Impact

Before medical school, Vu’s journey began under the guidance of forensic pathologists at the Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office, where she interned and later worked as a morgue technician. Seeing no pathology club at ATSU, she started one, creating educational opportunities for classmates and outreach for the local rural Missouri community. Drawing on her time as a STEM Education Integrator with AmeriCorps VISTA, Vu envisioned a hands-on, engaging experience for kids at the local public library.

With help from the Sparking Interest in Pathology Award, Vu created a Mini Medical School, enlisting over 10 ATSU student groups to lead fun, age appropriate, interactive science stations using everyday items that kids are familiar with, tailoring the activities to reflect their medical discipline.  The Orthopedics Club taught anatomy by having attendees build a model of a spine using gummy rings and licorice. The Anesthesiology Club demonstrated how the lungs work using paper bags and straws.

Pathology-focused stations allowed students to prepare their own slides and use beginner-friendly microscopes. Kids built blood models using slime, red beads, foam balls, and glitter to represent its various components. Another station taught students about cells using rice cakes topped with fruit and candy to illustrate organelles. “We had kids making slide after slide from salt to paprika to slime,” Vu recalls. “We literally watched a new world open up before them, right under the microscope.”

A Lasting Impression

One of Vu’s favorite moments came near the end of the event. As students picked up their homemade crafts and Mini Medical School diplomas, she noticed a young boy proudly signing his name on his certificate. His mother leaned over and said, “He’s going to be a doctor one day.” He nodded, still beaming. “We spent months planning the event, making coloring pages, flyers, and lesson kits, but that one moment made it all worth it,” Vu says.

Building a Legacy

What makes Vu’s project especially meaningful is its sustainability. The curriculum is flexible and reusable, and the event fostered strong collaboration across campus. Vu says many of her fellow medical students wanted to do something similar but hadn’t had time to organize it.

Her advice to other medical students? Just start.

“You’ll be surprised how many people want to help with outreach but haven’t had the time,” she says. “When you bring others in, the load lightens, and the impact multiplies.”

Transforming Passion Into Purpose

Christina Vu’s Mini Medical School is a powerful example of how a small award can create big, lasting impact, not only for future physicians but for the communities they will one day serve.

The CAP Foundation’s Sparking Interest in Pathology Award makes projects like this possible. Your support can help bring more innovative, educational, and inspiring ideas to life.

Donate today and turn early curiosity into a lifelong calling in pathology.