My name is Lena and I graduated from Macalester College in May 2022. I majored in International Studies with a concentration in Community and Global Health (CGH) and minored in French. I have a strong interest in public health which drew me to the CGH concentration where I took classes such as Anthropology of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Global Perspectives on Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health.
I used the knowledge that I learned in classes and connected them to real world scenarios and skills through internships. I interned with Hennepin County Department of Public Health to create an assessment of their hiring practices using an equity lens where I learned the importance of having county employees represent the communities they serve. I also interned with the University of Minnesota where I conducted research and developed lessons for their digital global health curriculum. Through this experience, I expanded my knowledge of medical terminology and learned to effectively create learning material on health subjects. Most recently, I interned at a health clinic in Dakar, Senegal during my semester studying away in the fall of 2021. I worked with a nurse to assist her in providing family planning care to women in the neighborhood. It was interesting to learn about the processes within the clinic and the local health problems that many women faced in the area.
I was drawn to this AmeriCorps VISTA position with Hennepin Healthcare because I wanted to connect to the Twin Cities community. I have been living in Minnesota for 4 years and I have loved living here. The health internships that I have had in Minnesota have been remote so I thought this would be an opportunity to be on the ground and be able to interact with people in the community. I felt that with the year commitment, I would be able to develop deeper relationships and make a bigger impact with the volunteer services program, which is important to me. Also, being in a hospital setting is a good way to expand my public health skills and knowledge.