Georgia Stewart and Rebekah Mercer
4th Year Medical Students, President and Vice President of SWOT
Queen's University Belfast

Bio(s)

I’m Georgia, I am a medical student at Queen’s taking a year out to complete an intercalated master’s degree in Clinical Anatomy. I’m the SWOT President for 2020-21 and whenever I’m not studying, I put my effort towards fundraising for our amazing charity. Our aim at SWOT is to raise money for essential medical supplies for impoverished hospitals in developing countries, and we do so by hosting various social events and fundraisers throughout the year. Due to COVID-19, it’s been a different year for us as a charity, but we remain determined to raise as much money as we can for the people who need it most. In my free time, I enjoy going out for brunch with family and friends or playing with my two rescue dogs, Maisie and Rosie.

I’m Rebekah, I'm currently in my fourth year of Medicine at Queens after taking a year out last year to complete a Masters in Clinical Anatomy. I am currently the vice president of the Students Working Overseas Trust and I am really passionate about the work that SWOT do in donating money to global healthcare facilities in need. We aim to cut out the middleman by sending the money with medical students during their final year electives which take place all around the world. This means we can be sure all the money raised is going directly to those who need it and we know we are making a difference to global healthcare. SWOT is one of the central societies in the medical school social life organising fundraising events throughout the year ranging from our iconic toga night to movie nights, raffles and last year due to COVID our zoom talent show. The highlight of our year is always our annual fashion show where the fourth year medical students show off their best dance moves in the name of charity and we have our fingers crossed we’ll be able to put on some sort of show this year.

TEDx Talk Title

Advocate locally for healthcare globally

Overview of TEDx Talk

Think back to March 2020, COVID-19 changed life as we know it. Our frontline staff were pushed to their limits and the NHS was under the most immense pressure it had been in years. Remember your emotions back at this time - the panic, the uncertainty and fear for your safety. Now, imagine you're living in rural Africa, where there's no such thing as PPE, no hand sanitiser and no basic medial equipment to keep you and your family safe. That's where SWOT wants to help - we, as medical students, want to advocate not only for healthcare here, but globally too. Your place of birth can determine your quality of life, and we feel passionate that there should be equity for all of us on Earth, not only in developed countries.