President's Message

Alpha Epsilon Delta (AED) is Louisiana State University's pre-professional health honor society, dedicated to fostering the success of pre-medical students. As an official student organization, AED connects members with service opportunities across the greater Baton Rouge area and exposes them to a wide range of medical specialties. Our mission is to support our members and help build ambitious, empathetic, service-oriented applicants, while creating a community of like-minded students working toward the same goal. AED also provides clinical and leadership opportunities that strengthen members' resumes and professionalism, including clinical jobs, research positions, CPR certification workshops, suture clinics, and officer positions within our subcommittees.

AED holds meetings every two weeks, during which we invite guest speakers from across Louisiana to share their experiences, advice, and guidance with our members about the medical field. These speakers include medical students, residents, and physicians of numerous specialties including orthopedics, dermatology, gastroenterology, oncology, and more. Each year we host a Dean's Convocation, where deans of admission from medical schools throughout the area speak on what they look for in applicants and how to stand out, giving members a chance to connect with them outside an academic setting. We also host a Mock Interview to expose our members to the medical school interview process. In the spring, LSU’s pre-med review committee joins us to answer questions and provide guidance about the internal review committee and general application process. 

AED firmly believes in the power of community-based service, with it being one of our core organizational tenets. We provide members with numerous opportunities to volunteer across LSU’s campus and the greater Baton Rouge area. Last year, our members completed roughly 7,000 hours of service locally, partnering with organizations such as Hearts and Hooves, the Knock Knock Museum, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, Volunteers in Public Schools, the American Heart Association, and the Greater Baton Rouge Food Bank. This work earned us the 2021 Commitment to Change award from Campus Life. 

Our members have since continued to build on that record. We collected nearly 3,000 pounds of food for LSU Food Bank’s Battle of the Cans in collaboration with other campus organizations. Additionally, each year we host an end of year gala benefitting our philanthropy, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Louisiana, where members also have the chance to mentor local elementary school students. We host a blood drive each semester that saves more than 600 lives a year, and we participate in The Gift of Life, a nonprofit that operates a public blood stem cell and bone marrow registry to facilitate transplants for people battling leukemia, lymphoma, and other life-threatening illnesses. Through that partnership, we’ve swabbed over 500 students, resulting in 13 successful donor matches. This past year, we also took home first place for chapter engagement, chapter activities, and convention spirit at AED’s national convention in Birmingham.

I am honored to serve as your AED President this year. I still remember what it felt like to join as a freshman, and I am grateful for the chance to give back to this wonderful organization by leading it. That early experience is the foundation of my goal for this year: ensuring AED is a place of guidance and fellowship for every single member. I recognize firsthand the pre-med path can feel competitive and isolating at times, and I want AED to be the community that reminds you why you started and reaffirms that you belong here. This journey is challenging, but you do not have to navigate it alone. 

This year, the executive board and I are dedicated to strengthening the member experience. We will be expanding our service initiatives to provide more impactful opportunities, both locally with underserved populations and potentially across the country through collaboration with other chapters. We are also committed to creating clearer pathways for you to gain valuable clinical and shadowing experience through overhauling our preceptorship program. A key priority is to further expand our already successful mentorship culture within our chapter, connecting members so you can learn from one another’s journeys. We want to strengthen the bonds within our organization through more social and bonding events. AED should be a place where you build lasting friendships that extend well beyond your time at LSU.

Whether you are new to AED or a returning member, my door is always open. We are here to help you succeed, and I am confident that we will provide you with the resources to be a strong, competitive applicant. I am so excited for the year ahead and for the positive impact we will make together.

Jake Mathis

2026-2027 President

LSU AED Louisiana Beta Chapter