Introduction: Current estimates show that 28% of US adults have never been screened for colorectal cancer (CRC), which has led the National CRC Roundtable to set goals of increasing screening rates to 80% by the end of 2018. In this study, we developed a replicable, 90 minute session to actively engage first year medical students in understanding the importance of CRC screening and their impressions of patient, physician, health-care systems, and community barriers to screening. Methods: A 90 minute session was developed for first year medical students. Prior to each session, a pre-program-survey on Qualtrics software was sent to the entire first year class at Albany Medical College (n= 134). A reading to illustrate the impact of CRC and the importance of barriers to screening was provided to learners prior to the session. The session consisted of a case presentation of a patient who was diagnosed with colon cancer, a presentation by the New York State Department of Health on the burden of CRC, a student group project and discussion of student project ideas, and a question and answer session with a panel of health-care professionals (including a gastroenterologist, public health physicians, and a community center director). Students were sent a post-survey and results were compared in aggregate to pre-survey data. Results: Based on pre- (n=55) and post- (n=41) program surveys, learners improved their ability to correctly identify the 80% target rate of average risk patients that should be screened for CRC (29.09% vs. 73.17%). Learners cited a ‘lack of knowledge’ (36.59%) as the largest patient barrier to receiving CRC screening, followed by ‘fear’ (28.63%), ‘access to care’ (17.07%), and ‘motivation’ (9.76%). Out of the 134 students who rated the educational activity, the majority rated the activity as good or excellent (74.63 %). Conclusion: This educational intervention for first year medical students was effective in informing students about the importance of CRC screening. In addition, this provided an opportunity for future physicians to discuss patient, physician, health-care system, and community barriers to care. By educating medical students on the importance of preventive screening, we hope to encourage future physicians to employ these methods in their practices to reduce the impact of preventable cancers. Further research is needed to improve student-based interventions and to assess the long-term impact of these sessions.