When the first class of 49 medical students set foot on the new Wake Forest University School of Medicine Charlotte campus in summer 2025, they quickly hit the ground running — both in the classroom and by launching Deacon Dashers, a student-led club that promotes wellness, connection, service and philanthropy.
It started when Class of 2029 student Alisha Kamath[WM1.1], an ambitious endurance athlete, laced up her shoes to explore her new surroundings and get some exercise jogging through the city. She invited her fellow Doctor of Medicine program (MD) classmates to join and received an emphatic response.
“It started out as a very informal club,” Kamath says. “I sent out a message to the class asking if anyone wanted to go on a run the next week and 15 people said ‘yes.’ At the end of the workout, everyone was asking to do this again the next week.”
With both the campus and many of its students new to Charlotte, the inclusive group quickly became a source of connection and belonging beyond the classroom. It’s for everyone, including beginners, walkers and those with experience.
Kamath found support to get the club on its feet from classmates Benjamin Stubblefield and Eva Lindner, as well as faculty, staff and peers. It’s a welcoming environment where club members are giving their limited free time to help one another reach their athletic and academic goals.
In its first year, about 17 students met for weekly workouts, providing these aspiring doctors with an outlet, particularly before test days.
“Everyone usually looks forward to the pre-test run,” Kamath says. “A lot of people use it as a way to decompress, reset and go into a positive mindset before the test.”
They’ve also found camaraderie among their medical peers, such as a run and breakfast outing with surgeons at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center.
The group adopted the name “Deacon Dashers” and became a chartered university club in fall 2025. Students in the incoming Class of 2030 showed quick interest when they arrived on campus in July, and the club has grown to over 40 members entering the new school year – nearly half the student body.
Making a difference locally
As Deacon Dashers found its stride on campus, club members were finding ways to give back across Charlotte.
Several members volunteer each week with Achilles International, helping athletes with visual impairments participate in local races and outdoor activities. Jerry Wang, a Class of 2029 student and Deacon Dasher, says that volunteering with Achilles International has helped him better understand those living with visual impairments and it has been rewarding helping others live healthy lives.
“The athletes I work with opened my eyes to new ways of interacting with the environment and other people through touch and sound,” Wang says. “It is important to know what to say, when to say it and when someone just needs a nudge.”
Over the summer, Wang joined fellow Deacon Dashers and Class of 2029 students John-Hewlett “JH” West, Sebastian Scrivner and Stubblefield on a cross-country bike ride to raise money for colon cancer research. The 4,000-mile ride was inspired by West’s grandfather, who is facing colon and brain cancer.
In August, they were also among over a dozen Deacon Dashers who traded their sneakers for bicycles to participate in “24 Hours of Booty,” an annual event where they camped out and cycled for a full day to raise money for cancer research. Several participants have family members and friends who are facing cancer, making the event deeply personal.
With help from School of Medicine faculty, staff, classmates and other supporters, they biked more than 1,200 miles and raised over $11,000 to support cancer research at Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute and Atrium Health Levine Children’s Hospital.
The club is also discussing future partnerships with other run clubs and organizations.
“I think Deacon Dashers is amazing because it shows the hearts of the students in Charlotte,” Kamath says. “Yes, we want to be able to spend time outside and strengthen the connections we’ve made, but we also want to use what we've built to give back to the community. That's really special to see.”
Club expands to Winston-Salem
With the club grounding its footing in the medical school’s newest home, the Winston-Salem campus launched its own Deacon Dashers club in summer 2026. Class of 2029 MD students, Smrami Patel, Seth Jarvis and Tatiana Rossy led the effort for many of the same reasons the club gained traction in Charlotte – a way to build a sense of belonging among classmates, lead healthy lifestyles and help others beyond campus.
About 100 students from programs across the Winston-Salem campus have already participated in club meets and outings, with groups of about 20 attending regularly. [RG2.1]The expansion reflects the club's growing role in connecting students and strengthening culture across both campuses.
“We wanted to get students together, take a study break and build something that went beyond running,” Jarvis says.
“From the beginning, the goal was to create a community that included wellness, connection and service.”
“You’re meeting classmates you may not interact with day-to-day and making those connections in a very fun way,” Patel says.
“A lot of medical students and graduate students struggle with being able to make time to take care of themselves without feeling guilty about it,” Rossy says. “Run club is a quick way to exercise, be with friends and have something to look forward to.”
Class of 2030 MD student Timothy “TJ” Bowen is leading the club members [RG3.1]with fundraising and other service-oriented opportunities in the Triad. The Winston-Salem club is already involved in the sixth annual Run for Joy, a 5K race that supports mental health advocacy and wellness for health care trainees, which began in memory of the late School of Medicine student Katelyn Joy Beardsley.
Better together
The Winston-Salem members plan to join their Charlotte counterparts in November to run a half marathon event in Charlotte. It will be the first big outing involving members from both campuses. They’ll raise funds for the Jett Foundation, an organization that benefits the Duchenne muscular dystrophy community, which holds particular meaning for Bowen, who has a close friend living with Duchenne.
“The big goal of this is to make it an annual thing where we can all run the half marathon together and then have a cause that we run for, as well,” says Bowen. “I think it can make training a little more fun and motivating if you're able to run and then also share your mission.”
The club members are all leading by example how to live a healthy lifestyle, cultivating habits they say are important as they train to become health care professionals.
“I got into running because I thought, ‘as a future physician, I can’t be advising people on exercise habits if I can’t even run a mile,’” Patel says.
“One thing that I'm really glad Deacon Dashers has brought to both campuses is the opportunity to engage in bettering yourself and working toward modeling positive behaviors for patients,” Kamath says.[WE4.1] "I'm hoping that the foundation that we built will help us carry that forward into residency and have more of a perspective to bring to our patients.”
