About Me

VIDA was the first club I joined on campus. My PLTL leader was the president my first semester and really emphasized that VIDA was the place to find like minded individuals. I fulfilled my requirement to become an official member and by the time the board applications opened I immediately applied to become a director. I accepted the offer to become the Co-Director of a service trip in the Dominican republic. Along with the service trips I have volunteered with VIDA at many places included marathons, keeping Indy beautiful and CEES, which removes invasive species from Indy parks. 

Through VIDA I was able to strengthen my communication skills. We worked as a team 90% of the time and learned to listen to each other. VIDA helped me get more involved with the community which I really enjoyed. 

The Co-Director position for service Trip in the Dominican Republic really challenged me to get out of my comfort zone. Someone I know told me to go for positions I feel slightly under-qualified for because that will cause me to grow. In preparations for the trip my co-director and I had a lot of logistics to work through. Our partner organization is called 7E which stands for 7 Elements. 7E mission statement is "Our mission is to introduce students to Human Security issues and implement socially responsible and culturally appropriate service projects in less secure communities. " Upon arrival we were greeted by 7E staff and they took us to where we would be staying the next 7 days.

While in the Dominican I wasn't shocked by the living state of the residents. My family is from Mexico and I've visited my parents home town. The participants in my group were all pretty shocked and felt out of place while I did not. I began to think why that was and why I didn't feel bad. I had always been around latinos living in poverty and doing what they can just to survive. This experience made me remember why I wish to become a doctor who can provide for underserved communities. 

I joined the Pre-Dental club my first semester at IUPUI. I was able to find other Pre-dental students in my grade and others who have taken the DAT and applied to dental schools. I find this club really helpful because seniors really help walk you through the process of applying and getting ready to apply. I have been able to get better at networking and communicating. 

I was able to learn how to how to ask dentist to shadow and how to make an impression. 

I applied to the IU-SOC in the spring semester of my first year. I wanted to gain clinical experience since I had not had any before this. Part of my job as a volunteer was to check patients in and out. I gained experience in talking and listening to the patients needs. 

I believe that patients should have a warm welcome into clinics since they don't feel well. Some patients also are scared of seeking help either because of language barrier or other factors. Since I speak Spanish, I was able to help check in hispanics who couldn't advocate for themself in english. 

I've completed around 40 hours of shadowing. IUPUI Pre-Dental Club provided me with helpful resources when reaching out to dental offices. A peer who is also in the club gave me some dental offices she recommend since our home towns are near each other.  I had reached out to about 8 clinics and I was accepted into one. 

When I first began shadowing, I didn't know how to interact with the staff since dentist office mainly work individually. I eventually started to ask more questions not only to the dentist but also the dental assistants and hygienists. Everyone was very welcoming and had lots of advice for me. I cannot wait to continue to shadow this summer and continue to grow my skills. 

GOAl is a volunteer opportunity provided by VIDA. GOAL university is a program that aims to educate students K-6 in Indianapolis about maintaining themself healthy. My group was made up of 6 people in total. We went to an elementary every Tuesday and had around 12 students. We gave lessons in nutrition as well a physical activity. 

I learned how to interact with younger students and make things interesting to the young mind. The other paticipants were also Biology majors so we have kept in touch ever since. We all learned to work together efficiently and took turns being incharge of different activities.