Raz Kravtoro Reflects on Three Years of Student Leadership and Impact

My name is Raz Kravtoro, a medical student in the four-year program, a programmer, and a bioinformatician. Over the past three years, I have had the privilege of helping lead the Medical Students’ Association for Medicine and Research in the Galilee — first as Head of Welfare and later as Chair of the Association.

Throughout this journey, we worked together with the Association’s team, class representatives, and many students who chose to dedicate their time to supporting others, with the goal of strengthening the unique community that has been built here.

These three years were far from ordinary. When the war broke out, we established the Galilee Medical Students’ Emergency Operations Center, trained students for emergency response roles, and helped connect them with organizations and frameworks that needed their support.

From that same spirit of mutual responsibility, the “Teddy Bear Resilience Center” was born — a nationwide interdisciplinary initiative that we established together with the Department of Psychology.

At the same time, through the Israeli Medical Students’ Association (IMSA), the umbrella organization for medical student associations in Israel, we strengthened collaboration between medical schools, participated in efforts against Israel’s suspension from the International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations, and worked to promote accommodations for reserve duty soldiers and for all students in academic work and final examinations.

Alongside these efforts, it was important for us to continue building a community and strengthening northern Israel. We joined the Northern Students’ Associations Forum for the first time, established the “Far North Forum” together with Tel-Hai and Zefat Colleges, and expanded the range of events and benefits available to students — including the winery evenings that have become a tradition.

All of this came from a desire to create a sense of home in the Galilee and strengthen student life, even during an especially challenging period.

A significant part of the work happened behind the scenes, through building relationships with various stakeholders within the Faculty. Together with the Faculty leadership, we advanced initiatives in the areas of scholarships, housing, student exchanges, mental health, and strengthening the connection between medicine and research.

We did not succeed in every effort. The credit for our achievements belongs first and foremost to my partners along the way, and for the things we were not able to advance as we had hoped — I take responsibility.

I am concluding this chapter with a deep sense of gratitude and pride. We tried to build a community and support one another, even when things were difficult, guided by the belief that no one should have to go through this journey alone.

I hope that the foundations we built here will continue to serve future generations, because ultimately, this is one of the most meaningful aspects of choosing our profession — trying to leave the world a little better than we found it.