When senior Alex Moeller was volunteering in the Blodgett Hospital’s neuroscience sector, he met a family receiving news that the patient wasn’t going to be discharged for a while. There was football on the TV, so that’s what he started talking to them about.
“I think that it distracted them from what was going on in their lives at that time,” Alex said. “I think I made a small impact on their morale.”
Since he isn’t able to talk to the patients about anything medical-related, he instead strikes up conversations about many other things, including sports and the economy, another one of his interests.
Alex is planning on majoring in biology next year on the pre-med track. His interest in the advancement of medicine motivated him to pursue a career in medicine and to volunteer biweekly at a hospital, where his favorite thing is talking to the patients, especially the older ones.
“I think the connection with the patients I get [is what I enjoy most],” Alex said, “especially with the older generation. They definitely cherish having a younger person in the patient room. Oftentimes, a lot of these older patients, [when] they see a young person, they’ll light up. I definitely look forward to continuing to do it through college.”
Outside of volunteering, Alex has explored his interest in medicine by engaging in research. During the summer, he joined a lab at the Michigan State University Institute. He worked with other lab assistants to target the tau protein to learn more about Alzheimer’s disease.
“[The study] introduced me to a lot of lab research that I hope to do in the future,” Alex. “It has always been something that I’ve looked into doing. I took the Human Anatomy class my sophomore year. I found it very interesting. Then, volunteering at the hospital made me more interested in medicine in general.”
As Alex looks for ways to continue exploring his passion for medicine, he found a connection to it in another of his interests the stock market.
He started investing after he first became interested in the stock market during his freshman year and has since been able to transfer to his account after turning 18. Through his exploration, Alex has found many parallels that pique his curiosity as he’s been able to find a middle ground for his two main interests.
“One of my favorite things that I’ve noticed so far is the connection between the stock market and things that I do, even at school,” Alex said, “specifically with science. I think one of the biggest things that I like looking at [are] companies that are in the biotech or biology sector. I like to apply a lot of things that I’ve learned in my biology and chemistry class into what these companies are doing and seeing that connection between the two of them. I think one of the main reasons why I like the stock market is because you can connect it to so many different things in the world, including geopolitical risks and other issues worldwide.”
Now, Alex transfers much of his earnings from his job at Chipotle to his investments in the stock market. On top of that, he has also found a way to continue his interest with an investment club he started with some of his friends. Last year, they founded Forest Hills Charitable Investments (FHCI), with which they collect donations to invest in the stock market, then donate the profits to various charities while the members also engage in several community service activities.
The organization has been able to accumulate about $8,000 in funds. Every week, they meet to discuss plans and the current state of various economic sectors, from real estate to graphics processing units.
“I think the biggest thing is learning how the world works,” Alex said. “You’re constantly checking up on news and what’s going on in the world, and I think you get a very good breath of breath of different sectors of the industry. I think the best part about it is the outreach of topics you learn about.”
FHCI started with just Alex and a few friends, but it has since grown rapidly, holding over 30 members currently.
With much of the senior leadership graduating, Alex is confident that FHCI will be in good hands. Most of all, he has loved seeing a community form.
“I see it as every meeting progresses—people get more and more invested in the stock market, funny pun,” Alex said. “Just seeing that progression I think makes the whole thing not only worth it, but something I would do throughout college and further.”
Alex plans to continue to explore both of his passions in the future, each individually and by looking into their overlap.
Ultimately, Alex is motivated by the advancements in medicine. He sees how business meets the hospital setting, and he looks forward to contributing to both.
“I think that we’re just at the beginning,” Alex said. “I think the AI industry is going to completely transform what we’re going to see with medicine from both the hospital patient care all the way to biotech companies and how they develop their drugs and medicines, and hopefully, I could find some place in the realm of the two in my future. I think there’s just a lot of growth prospects between the two of them. And, obviously, the main purpose for all of this is improving patient care, improving the lives of people we see every day and seeing those people live one day more.”
