The World Health and Treatment, or W.H.A.T. Club, is a new club founded by Charlie Curtis, senior, and Maggie Ely, senior.

Curtis thought to start the club after experiencing cardiac arrest during his freshman year. From this experience, he realized that he wanted to begin a club that would inform the student body about cardiac health and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR.

“The main focus of W.H.A.T. Club is to educate as many as possible about CPR so that they are comfortable enough to save a life when needed, to get students in contact with the means necessar to pursue a career in the medical profession and to keep students heart healthy and exercising,” Curtis said.

And this club is intriguing to students.

“I’m interested in things that involve medicine, health and treating people,” freshman, Eric Zhao said.

Maggie Ely partnered with Curtis to make a club that would not only provide information about CPR and cardiac health, but also to create a club that would provide students with the necessary information and tools for those interested in a job in the medical field.

“I want to eventually pursue a career involving medicine and have met a ton of people with similar interest, so I started this club because I felt Plant didn’t really provide any information to students about that career path,” Ely said.

Ely hopes this club will give students opportunities to test and experience what a profession in medicine could be like.

“Our club also hopes to expose students to various service opportunities that will help them dive further into their passion for science and medicine,” Ely said.

And, many students have taken this opportunity to explore and expand upon their interest in medicine.

“The W.H.A.T. Club is something I can personally relate to since I’m super interested in the medical field. It allows me to spread my passion for medicine to Plant students and even learn more about the medical field as well as other heath issues in our community,” senior, Lucille Wilkinson said.

Maddie Robinson, junior, also shares this interest in the medical field and hopes to increase and share her medical knowledge for the future.

“I joined [the W.H.A.T. club] because I’ve always been interested in health and I want to go into a medical career. I hope to gain knowledge on health that I could use to help others,” Robinson said.

Some who were even interested in veterinary medicine joined.

“I intend to go into veterinary medicine and I figure it looks good on college applications. [I hope to gain] CPR certification,” sophomore, Robert Miller said.

Along with informing students about medical issues and policies, the club plans to have guest speakers come in and to participate in activities, such as the Heart Walk.

“We’re going to do the Heart Walk in Nov,” club sponsor, Carrie Mahon said. “It’s important because we didn’t really have anything for folks really interested in the medical field other than taking anatomy class, so it’s an opportunity for us to get together and grow some knowledge outside of the classroom.”

Mahon was Curtis’ HOPE teacher, and witnessed his cardiac arrest during freshman year, and the two have grown closer ever since this then.

“He had his cardiac issue in my health class during freshman year, and we’ve developed a really strong relationship. He’s an awesome young man and I just enjoy the energy he has,” Mahon said.

Curtis’ experience changed his life, leading him to realize how important knowing CPR and other safety procedures really are.

“I’m very proud with how the club turned out, and hopefully it becomes as strong and well known as our service clubs,” Curtis said.