Volunteer Experience
Winter 2020 – Spring 2022
Medicine-Pediatrics Interest Group
Vice President, cofounder
I assisted in starting and operating the internal medicine-pediatrics interest group at Burrell College. As the first Med-Peds interest group at the college, I recruited our advising faculty members, handled administrative work between the college and the interest group, and conducted online outreach and student recruitment. Additionally, I communicated between school administration and group members to ensure the group provided value to the community at large. During my time as Vice President, I increased membership up to 40 active members, coordinated Q&As between residency programs and our student body, and increased awareness of the specialty at Burrell College. The interest group was awarded the National Med Peds Interest Group Association’s Outstanding Interest Group at the 2021 National Conference.
Summer 2021
Virtual Med-Peds Student Elective
Student
Participated in a 2-week virtual elective to enhance exposure and explore content in the combined specialty of Internal Medicine-Pediatrics (Med-Peds). The structure comprised of four key components: self-directed learning, peer to peer educational sessions, clinical case and topic reviews with med-peds residents, interactive sessions on a variety of Medicine, Pediatrics, and Med-Peds topics with Med-Peds attending physicians. Completed 80 hours of sessions with approximately 10 residents and 20 attending physicians. Submitted a reflective writing piece at the culmination of the virtual elective.
Fall 2017 – Spring 2018
BakerRipley Ripley House
Community volunteer
At BakerRipley’s Ripley House, I worked with the food and nutrition department of the food distribution program. Additionally, after the effects of Hurricane Harvey devastated the Houston area, I worked to help low-income, underserved, and marginalized communities connect with appropriate resources such as assisting them to sign up for Medicaid, rent assistance programs, and other legal and social programs. As part of my work with their food and nutrition program, I would help coordinate the delivery and distribution of fresh foods at our weekly food fairs.
Summer 2017 – Spring 2018
Houston Food Bank
Community volunteer and outreach
Volunteering at the Houston Food Bank was incredibly formative as it allowed me to combine teaching and community outreach. I started volunteering during the summer months as a child nutrition educator. Along with a team of dietitians and dietetic interns, we visited inner-city elementary schools to assist in operating summer programs to teach children the importance of nutrient-rich foods and how exciting, fun, and simple it can be to prepare healthful foods at home. We showed all the students how to prepare and cook meals twice a week. The children also took grocery store gift cards and a book of recipes home to their parents to include the entire family. I also participated in the food bank events with their mobile grocery truck after Hurricane Harvey, where I was responsible for coordinating food distribution at the events.
Fall 2013 – Spring 2018
Centros Familiares de la Comunidad (CFC)
Student volunteer
I began my volunteering and community outreach work at CFC as a first-year undergraduate and continued volunteering at the center until I graduated. While volunteering here, the experiences I gained shaped who I wish to become as a physician and future leader in my community. I was mainly involved in the center’s free health clinic and their weekly health fairs. The center is in the heart of one of Houston’s most impoverished Latinx communities in Southeast Houston. Speaking to mothers, fathers, and their children gave me an account of what was happening and things requiring urgent action in the community. For example, food deserts and insecurity, lack of healthcare, and fear of legal action due to immigration concerns coerced these patients to live with many necessities we often take for granted. In addition to helping operate the health clinics and fairs, I was also involved in their food fairs which they distributed healthy foods to those in need.