September 2023 eMagazine Supplementary Issue
OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Health eMagazine September 2023 Supplementary Issue YOUTH ACADEMY FOR LATINO LEADERS COLLABORATION number of surprises. Surprise from the insight many of the young students brought to the group. I can easily recall how difficult it was to be their age, and the trauma of the transition from middle school to high school as a minority first-generation student. If your parents haven’t had the opportunity to have that experience, it’s unlikely they’d be able to help you navigate its complexities. If I may be allowed to say it was difficult to be a teenager 20 years ago, it is only fair to say that it is many magnitudes more complex and difficult today. The pressure teenagers must deal with from their peers, social media culture insisting that their lives be perpetually recorded and broadcasted, and the expectations from their parents can amount to a Sisyphean task. And yet, the students continue to surprise me with how bravely they keep walking through that minefield. One aspect of the program we insisted on from the beginning, and in my mind, one of the main objectives that set it apart from other summer educational programs, was that all the instructors and volunteers would be minority community leaders and subject matter experts from the local community. We strongly believed that it was not enough to introduce the students to these new subjects and possibilities. We needed to show them examples of people they could identify with. People that looked and spoke like them and had achieved the goals we were setting before them. CELEBRATING SUCCESS GLOBAL HEALTH ACADEMY INAUGURAL PROJECT Y.A.L.L. BIOSKETCHES AND REFLECTIONS PHOTO NEWS RESOURCES PREVIOUS ISSUES OF THE EMAGAZINE Graduate Students with leaderships from DCC and Nuvance Health and UVMLCOM Global Health Program As a medical student, I have had the privilege of accessing many incredible opportunities and experiences. One such experience was a recent visit to Danbury Hospital by a traveling exhibit that highlighted African American surgeons. The exhibit was created by the NIH to encourage more students of color to apply to surgical specialties and was accompanied by a speech by Dr. Ramon Batson MD. Dr. Batson is a highly respected and successful Neurosurgeon. During the question answer portion, a Caucasian surgeon in the crowd asked why 8 Y.A.L.L. continued on next page >>
OUR PEOPLE, OUR MISSION Global Health eMagazine September 2023 Supplementary Issue YOUTH ACADEMY FOR LATINO LEADERS COLLABORATION CELEBRATING SUCCESS GLOBAL HEALTH ACADEMY INAUGURAL PROJECT Y.A.L.L. BIOSKETCHES AND REFLECTIONS PHOTO NEWS RESOURCES PREVIOUS ISSUES OF THE EMAGAZINE graduating medical students of color were not applying to surgical programs. Dr. Batson and an African American surgery resident both answered that it is hard to aspire to be something when one doesn’t have role models to look up to and identify with in those positions. The surgeon who asked the question had a hard time understanding how the lack of people that look like us in a certain position, prevents us from applying to that field. I would say it’s not a matter of active prevention, it’s more of a subconscious awareness that such positions are out of our reach. When designing the curriculum for the summer academy, all the members of the Dominican Community Center agreed that this barrier could easily be broken by providing even just one example of someone that was able to achieve something that as young students, we couldn’t have dreamt of. In the end, we didn’t just find one lecturer who was of a minority background, all the lecturers were minority community leaders and business owners who volunteered their time because they believed in our mission. On the last day of classes, we ended with a trip to the Clinical Simulation Lab at Danbury Hospital. There, the students had a chance to be medical students for a day. They were able to use the different mannequins to listen to heart sounds, lung sounds, learn the importance and meaning of vital signs, and practice CPR. At the end of course, I asked the students to reflect on their experiences during their short time with us. The students almost unanimously said that seeing people of minority backgrounds who had so many great achievements, made them strive for goals they previously would not have considered. As current student Daniella Valenzuela put it, “It gave me a new perspective on professions I had never thought about. The different experiences during the field trips have inspired me to pursue a career in the medical field.” Another student, Blaymin Fabian, added that “The classes have opened my eyes to ways to help my community, to do more volunteering and overall help others.” We hope to continue to welcome these students back during the entirety of their high school careers. And ideally accept a new class of high school freshman next year. If we were able to achieve this in 24 hours of instruction, in 4 days spread out over four weeks in the summer, I’m excited to see what these students can accomplish over the next four years. We will continue to strive to create a class of community leaders that will better represent the Danbury community, and thus be able to identify and find solutions for issues within the community. And I wholeheartedly believe that the Youth Academy for Latino Leaders can achieve this goal. 9
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OUR PEOPLE,<br />
OUR MISSION<br />
Global Health<br />
<strong>eMagazine</strong><br />
<strong>September</strong> <strong>2023</strong><br />
<strong>Supplementary</strong><br />
<strong>Issue</strong><br />
YOUTH ACADEMY FOR<br />
LATINO LEADERS<br />
COLLABORATION<br />
number of surprises. Surprise from the insight many of the young students brought<br />
to the group. I can easily recall how difficult it was to be their age, and the trauma<br />
of the transition from middle school to high school as a minority first-generation<br />
student. If your parents haven’t had the opportunity to have that experience, it’s<br />
unlikely they’d be able to help you navigate its complexities. If I may be allowed<br />
to say it was difficult to be a teenager 20 years ago, it is only fair to say that it<br />
is many magnitudes more complex and difficult today. The pressure teenagers<br />
must deal with from their peers, social media culture insisting that their lives be<br />
perpetually recorded and broadcasted, and the expectations from their parents<br />
can amount to a Sisyphean task. And yet, the students continue to surprise me<br />
with how bravely they keep walking through that minefield.<br />
One aspect of the program we insisted on from the beginning, and in my mind, one<br />
of the main objectives that set it apart from other summer educational programs,<br />
was that all the instructors and volunteers would be minority community leaders<br />
and subject matter experts from the local community. We strongly believed that it<br />
was not enough to introduce the students to these new subjects and possibilities.<br />
We needed to show them examples of people they could identify with. People<br />
that looked and spoke like them and had achieved the goals we were setting<br />
before them.<br />
CELEBRATING SUCCESS<br />
GLOBAL HEALTH ACADEMY<br />
INAUGURAL PROJECT<br />
Y.A.L.L.<br />
BIOSKETCHES AND<br />
REFLECTIONS<br />
PHOTO NEWS<br />
RESOURCES<br />
PREVIOUS ISSUES OF<br />
THE EMAGAZINE<br />
Graduate Students with leaderships from DCC and Nuvance Health and<br />
UVMLCOM Global Health Program<br />
As a medical student, I have had the privilege of accessing many incredible<br />
opportunities and experiences. One such experience was a recent visit to<br />
Danbury Hospital by a traveling exhibit that highlighted African American<br />
surgeons. The exhibit was created by the NIH to encourage more students of<br />
color to apply to surgical specialties and was accompanied by a speech by Dr.<br />
Ramon Batson MD. Dr. Batson is a highly respected and successful Neurosurgeon.<br />
During the question answer portion, a Caucasian surgeon in the crowd asked why<br />
8<br />
Y.A.L.L. continued on next page >>
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