Community Outreach
UH Manoa
Student Life
Policy & Advocacy Team members from Chålan Åmte testify at the Guam Legislature in support of Bill 169-38 which grants autonomy to Guam's Community Health Centers.
Dr. Eduardo Biala, Jr., a recent graduate of the John A. Burns School of Medicine, recalls his earlier years as a pre-medical student in Guam, with no clear trail to follow on his journey to medicine. But one thing was clear– the obstacles he faced paled in comparison to the healthcare challenges he witnessed around him. Biala wanted to be part of the solution to fulfill a critical need for local physicians.
“Back there (Guam), we have limited access to healthcare in terms of specialists, in particular. Seeing my family members navigate healthcare, having to go off-island to seek whatever specialty care they needed and being exposed to that is what kind of got me interested in medicine and I took a leap of faith,” Biala said.
That leap of faith meant mapping his own path from the University of Guam, to the University of Hawaiʻi ʻImi Hoʻōla Program and eventually graduating with his medical degree from JABSOM. And he admits that forging your own path is much easier said than done.
“I was thankful I had mentors who were JABSOM alumni and were able to tell me their insight and give me perspective,” Biala said.
But having a broad network or even a set of peers to rely on wasnʻt around back when he initially applied to medical school. He wanted to help other aspiring doctors from his hometown to chart their own paths to medicine. It was during his time at JABSOM that he met a group of like-minded individuals that had just founded Chålan Åmte, a non-profit group that was initially created to provide mentorship, peer support, and community building for pre-medical students.
“The founders - Kai Akimoto, Megan Gimmen and Ryan Benavente - we all have different stories and backgrounds but all with the one unifying goal similar to mine and the other members in our group. The goal is to help perpetuate this culture and this idea that people in the Pacific do belong in medicine and that there is a pathway for you,” Biala said.
Mason Caldwell and Philip Lee at the 2026 ACP Hawai’i Chapter Annual Scientific Meeting in Oʻahu. Mason's oral presentation on Chålan Åmte's Guam Specialty Capacity project wins Medical Student Research award.
Chålan Åmte Executive Director and current JABSOM student Mason Caldwell is passionate about building a stronger healthcare workforce in Guam. “That's the ultimate goal is to increase the amount of people that are working in healthcare in Guam,” he said.
“The direct translation of Chålan Åmte is ‘a pathway to healing’ and that’s one of the things that we’re trying to solidify and make sure it will continue after us,” Caldwell said. The organization has grown quickly from its three founding members to a much larger network of people from all over the world, including medical students, doctors and pre-medical students with ties to Guam, united in the mission to improve healthcare education and workforce capacity in the Pacific.
“For the next generation of pre-med students and the next generation of future doctors– how do we make sure this system is in place for them? Because for a lot of us, there was no system. A lot of it was kind of word of mouth and internet searches to understand this grueling process. Now that this (Chålan Åmte) exists, we're hoping that a lot of people can benefit from it and get on the right track early,” Caldwell added.
A common request from some of the pre-meds involved with Chålan Åmte is to meet with JABSOM students. So whenever he gets a chance to return home, Caldwell jumps at the chance to meet with undergraduate students, even during his “holiday breaks,” all for the good of the community.
Biala agrees, “That's what I appreciate about being a part of the organization. We may be far away (physically), but our roots are still running towards the island and so I really value the work that we do and I see how much it's been able to help our pre-med members. As we start to hear back and from them, they're saying, ‘oh, I got into medical school. I got into this so and so program.’ For me, when I hear that they get JABSOM, I think ‘Yes! You’re going to love it there!” he said.
Connecting Communities to Care: Chålan Åmte, CHC, and Public Health Lead Community Outreach
“It’s very humbling; at the same time, it’s very rewarding to see how much it’s been able to impact our community in Guam,” Biala added.
“Moving forward, we hope that the Chålan Åmte presence here at JABSOM will continue to grow,” Caldwell said. “I want our group to be a resource for people and maintain strong connections to the Marianas. Whether other groups partner with us, model their efforts after ours, or we learn from and model ours after theirs, building those relationships will benefit everyone involved.”