Neuroscience & Global Health
I had a Minecraft YouTube channel in elementary school with 72 subscribers
Around 25 years ago, my parents made the voyage from Honduras to a suburban town in New Jersey. Fueled by their love for my eldest sister, Nicolle, my parents put everything they had known and loved on the line the second they decided to come to the United States. As a child, I was aware of their immigration status, but did not understand its true implications; being undocumented meant they couldn’t buy certain allergy or flu medicine at the pharmacy because they didn’t have a proper form of identification. It also meant that they couldn’t get jobs that provided health insurance benefits for the majority of my lifetime. This meant my other sister, Tanya, and I only had state-provided health insurance, which most healthcare providers would not accept. This forced us into overcrowded clinics where my parents would have to call the entire day off just to attend an appointment. Nicolle, on the other hand, couldn't even qualify for such mediocre health services because of her undocumented status. Certain prescriptions, braces, specialized doctors, and many other necessary health services simply were not a part of my reality.
There are so many determinants in the health outcomes of people around the world. In my life, my first generation identity hindered my access to healthcare. My interests focus on how our identities, as determined by ourselves and/or governing bodies, impact the way we seek, access, and receive healthcare. Furthermore, I am fascinated by how determinants can affect the epidemiology of any given disease. Our identities are what make us unique, and should not be a contributor to how we experience healthcare.
I love how SPIRE encourages exploring interests in STEM at the. intersections of different interests.
