Raised in the inner city of New York and born to a low-income, Haitian, immigrant family, I was challenged to surpass the circumstances of a life characterized by financial instability, street violence, and frequent encounters with health care, ripe with confusion and fragmented instruction. My mother worked overtime to ensure…
This morning I woke up with the sun. Birds were singing as the sun rose over the mountains to the east, and I rolled over to watch colors fill the sky. As the sun grew stronger, I wrapped myself in my sheet to keep cool at an altitude of 8,667…
A personal tale of COVID-19 from the perspective of a neurodivergent veterinary student "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it…
Smallest ember remains,Flickering hope in dark.Once raged so bright when sane,Now not more than a spark.Young dreamers, full of heart,Did battle the great flames.Destined to heal with smarts,But fire won’t stay the same.The blaze does shift and move,Anyone near will be burned.Fear ignites; can’t improve.Innocence takes a turn.If phoenix escapes…
Public health is an inherently transdisciplinary field. ((Haire-Joshu D, McBride TD. Transdisciplinary public health: Research, education, and practice. Vol 49: John Wiley & Sons; 2013.)) While some programs build truly transdisciplinary curriculum, others still employ a siloed approach. In both types of programs, an epidemiology course may cover statistical methodologies…
For years, I have searched for the right mentor. I yearned to find someone successful and experienced professionally, who shared similar values and had also underwent similar experiences personally. The term mentorship is overused. Be it in youth groups, academic societies, Greek Life, or workplaces, mentorship programs are widespread. Society…
“Maria, Maria, Maria, Maria, all the beautiful sounds of the world in a single word.” Inspired by Shakespeare, the epic rivalry between the Jets and Sharks is a theatrical masterpiece describing the tension between the Puerto Rican Sharks that are taunted by the White Jets in America’s most notorious concrete…
Dear readers, Since ancient times, nutrition has played an integral part in the health and well-being of both individual humans and society. Modern nutrition science has continued to unveil the multitude of important roles that optimal nutrition can play in an individual’s growth, vitality, and longevity. At the same time,…
A personal story from a Somali granddaughter navigating end of life care with her grandfather.
It’s easy to see our patients as constellations of complaints and symptoms packaged in human bodies. It’s easy to focus on our patients’ chief complaints and on alleviating their immediate needs. But something is not working.
for 12 of the past 15 years, I have been the Felony Mental Health prosecutor in the Miami-Dade County State Attorney’s Office, and over these years, I have witnessed countless tragedies.
Creativity is necessary for all parts of life. As a classics professor of mine used to like saying, “the humanities are what make us human.”((University of Maryland Department of Classics. (n.d.). Retrieved October 29, 2019, from https://classics.umd.edu/users/gstaley )) If prompted, he would expound at length on discussions of art, writing,…
