About Me

I am a senior studying Health Sciences, minoring in Global and International Studies. I am interested in learning more of a broad range of health information, which this major does in a great way. I am able to learn about global health, a variety of healthcare systems around the world, healthcare policies and implementation, and more through this major and have more of a wide variety of information and more exploration of potential career goals.

Healthcare has always been the main choice for me as both my parents, along with the majority of my family, are immigrants from West Africa. They experienced damaged healthcare systems that desperately need to be fixed in order to create a better functioning country. As a teenager, I decided that I wanted to be one of the people who could help not just in the United States but also back home where my parents are from. This motivation paired with my experiences in my undergraduate years will be able to help me accomplish my dreams of working in global health and rebuilding the future of so many foreign countries. I have learned throughout my college experience how important public health is to the reduction of communicable and non-communicable diseases that largely impact our lives.

TEAMWORK

A good team member is somebody that actively listens to other people wants to see other people's viewpoints to whatever topic is being discussed, and participates in the conversation or project. A good team member won't interrupt others when they're giving their input and isn't rude when disagreeing with another person. I feel like I am a good team member because I input relevant information and listen to others when they do the same. I believe that I understand the importance of listening and comprehending. One skill I would want to work on is being confident in inputting my opinion all the time, not just when I think it's a popular opinion. Variety in opinions is good for team discussions and growing together, so everyone should be able to provide one.

Throughout my college life, much of my experience has required teamwork, including my time as a Honors College Peer Mentor, a PAWS' Pantry Lead Volunteer, an LHSI Intern, and more. I am most comfortable when I am working with a team of others as I am able to see different points of view, which is especially important as a public health professional as all people are individually unique.

STRENGTHS

High 5 Strengths:

  1. Deliverer: objective is to take responsibility

  2. Empathizer: objective is to be empathetic to others' emotions

  3. Coach: objective is to develop people's potential

  4. Time Keeper: objective is to set timelines and deadlines.

  5. Problem Solver: objective is to solve problems

INFJ Strengths:

  • soft-spoken and kind-hearted

  • goal-oriented, genuine, responsible, and caring

  • insightful, future-oriented, and conscientious

  • able to see the “big picture” very easily

  • make decisions by going with their gut

  • highly organized and able to handle several tasks simultaneously

Professionalism As a mentor

During Fall 2019, I served as an Honors College Peer Mentor, which has required me to show professionalism. One of the duties of a peer mentor is to communicate with and guide current freshmen in the Honors College and help them with any problems they may have. Although mentors and mentees are mostly matched with the same majors, there are some cases, like both of my mentees, who have different majors. This can lead to some issues when it comes to solving problems related to specific classes or major requirements. This happened to me with both of my mentees, and I was required to think on my feet with the questions and provide an answer that didn't make detrimental assumptions and didn't completely leave the question unanswered. I was able to do a lot of research in a relatively short amount of time in order to provide a quick response and complete my duty as a mentor. This problem played well into my skills as a coach, a problem-solver, and responsibility. Responsibility was most important in this, in my opinion, as I had to be responsible with my response and the information that I was giving.

Professionalism as a student employee

For the Spring 2020 semester, I served as a student grader for one of my former classes. One of my duties was to communicate with the students in my class and help them understand topics that they can improve on. Although this is a class within my major, there are people who aren't the same major as I am and people from a lot of different backgrounds and educational standings. Because of this, I have had to learn how to communicate differently based on what the problem is and the background of different people. It is not the same speaking to someone who is a parent returning to school versus someone the same age as me, but I have to have an understanding of professionalism in order to complete my job and assist them with their current education situation. Especially with the change in the semester, it is important that my communication is up to par.

growth as a professional

Every situation, whether it is during a lecture or in an internship setting, gives an observation of professionals in their workplace. It is much more glaring when people are being unprofessional than it is when they are being professional, and this is something that I have learned in many different settings. Professionalism is about representing yourself and your employer in a positive and accurate light. I have seen a lot of people not respecting others or their space, whether this is by speaking over others or speaking down to others. That is not a quality that I would like to see in my workplace, and luckily, I have not seen that in my internship environment. Additionally, I want to be able to help people understand topics that they need assistance with rather than being easily angered or annoyed, which is unprofessional. My goal as a professional is always to be respectful to everyone and give them the experience that I would want, and I believe my internship has done this very well.