A night of camaraderie, three-pointers, and school spirit brought the OUWB community together over pizza and a shared love for the game of basketball.

On Jan. 30, students, faculty, and staff from Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine cheered on the Oakland University men’s basketball team to a victory over the Green Bay Phoenix (68-54) during the second annual OUWB night.

Before tip-off, OUWB hosted a pizza party in O’Dowd Hall, welcoming attendees to grab a slice before the game. The event aimed to strengthen community bonds within OUWB and help integrate the medical school community with the broader Oakland University campus.

Christopher Carpenter, M.D., Stephan Sharf Dean, emphasized the importance of events like this in fostering camaraderie within OUWB.

“Having staff, students, administration, and faculty together is great,” said Carpenter.

Carpenter highlighted that while OUWB focuses heavily on external community engagement, internal connections within OUWB are equally important.

“We have such a strong focus on the community outside of OUWB, and we need to continue to focus on our community within OUWB. This is a great way to do that,” said Carpenter.

Steve Collard, CMA, vice dean, Business and Administration, echoed this sentiment.

“This kind of event brings the whole community together and really helps the students and the faculty and staff blend together,” said Collard.

Collard also noted the significance of supporting the university as a whole.

“We'll have 130 people at the game supporting the university. That's important too, that the university sees we're part of the bigger community,” said Collard.

Students expressed their excitement about attending the game, highlighting the importance of such events in fostering a sense of community among students and reminding them that in addition to OUWB, they are part of a larger OU community.

“It builds a sense of community, and it brings us together with the rest of the student body. It's not just us medical students, but rather with the entire university community at large,” said Ahmad Abu-Mahfouz, M1.

Olivia McNelly, M1, found the night to be a good opportunity to bridge the gap between OUWB students and OU undergraduates.

“It definitely is good to bridge the gap between the two communities and be more of a part of OU instead of just OUWB,” said McNelly.

The excitement of being in the stands at a basketball game was another reason why this event made an impact.

“A huge reason I committed to Oakland University for medical school was because of how good we were at basketball and March Madness,” said Yzen Al-Marrawi, M1. “That's something I was particularly excited about witnessing in person today.”

The game also served a greater purpose, as it was Cancer Awareness Night, which honored those affected by the disease and its impact on families. The audience was encouraged to honor their loved ones by raising signs, symbolizing unity and strength in the OU community in the fight against cancer.

Riya Gupta, M1, attended the OUWB basketball game to support the team, and bond with classmates and faculty.

“It's nice to have a break from studying and being able to just bond with everybody and have something to bring us all together,” said Gupta.

Abu-Mahfouz appreciated the importance of the opportunity to unwind with classmates.

“This just seemed like a really nice night to decompress with our friends and to represent our school,” said Abu-Mahfouz.

Shayaan Aqil, M1, emphasized the importance of social interactions beyond just academics.

“OUWB does a really good job of encouraging the community within our class,” said Aqil. “We have a very close-knit class, and these events allow us to interact outside of school more than just learning in class.”

Students, faculty, and staff all agreed that a group OUWB night out at the OU men’s basketball game provides a welcome break from studies for students and builds community for everyone.

“It takes us outside of our day-to-day roles and reminds us that we're all human beings together,” said Carpenter. “It's a great opportunity to socialize without the structure of the school.”

To request an interview, visit the OUWB Communications & Marketing webpage.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.