MedPals turns today's rural students into the doctors their hometowns need. We are a student-run mentorship and outreach program at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, working with middle schools, high schools, and early colleges across eastern North Carolina to put medicine, science, and health-care careers within reach for K–12 students who rarely see those paths modeled. The thesis is simple: the doctors who stay are the ones who came from here.
Founded by Eduardo Castañeda
MedPals was founded in October 2023 by Eduardo Castañeda, a medical student at the Brody School of Medicine and a former teacher. A Guatemalan immigrant who grew up navigating under-resourced schools in Appalachia, he built MedPals as a near-peer mentorship pipeline shaped by that experience — the conviction that early, sustained exposure to medicine, delivered by mentors who understand under-resourced classrooms firsthand, can change the trajectory of a student who might otherwise never picture themselves in health care.
From a small team to a sanctioned organization
In its first two years, MedPals grew from a handful of medical students running classroom modules into a sanctioned student organization recognized by both the Brody School of Medicine Office of Student Affairs and East Carolina University. Today it runs with a medical-student leadership board and an undergraduate chapter at ECU, delivering three core programs: in-school anatomy and physiology modules, on-campus exposure days, and MedVentures — an annual flagship event that brings roughly 125 middle and high school students to Brody for a full day of hands-on workshops and mentorship.
Recognition
In 2025, MedPals earned East Carolina University's Outstanding Educational Program of the Year and the Pitt County Board of Education's Creating Excellence in the East award, and has been featured by ECU News, The Daily Reflector, and an ECU-produced documentary. In April 2026, MedPals presented as a featured initiative at the ECU GRAD Partnership End-of-Year Celebration, alongside the Rural Education Institute.
Where we work
MedPals partners with public schools across Pitt and Greene counties in eastern North Carolina, and also serves youth through the Young Scholars and Leaders Summer Camp led by Councilmember Portia Willis. Across four MedVentures cycles and all programming, MedPals has reached approximately 2,000 students.
Get involved
Educators, administrators, and community partners interested in bringing MedPals to their schools can reach the medical school branch at brodymedpals@gmail.com or the undergraduate branch at ecumedpals@gmail.com. Prospective ECU student volunteers can join the undergraduate chapter or the Medical Student chapter by getting in touch with us through our emails or following us on Instagram. Brody MedPals is an officially recognized and sactioned Brody student organization through the Brody Office of Student Affairs.
