Why Immersive Summer Programs Matter to Health Care Students

Summer programs through the University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion focus on fostering diversity in health professions and setting students up for graduate and medical school success. Two students, Emma Gallardo Martinez and Tawanda Zvavamwe, provided a glimpse into their 10-week experiences.

Emma Gallardo Martinez is a public health major at the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.

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I'm studying public health for the same reason I want to go into the medical field, to close gaps in health inequities by working with people that often aren't included in statistics. Once I finish medical school, I aim to work where I grew up in South Phoenix and help underserved populations without good access to health care.

The Focusing Research on the Border Area (FRONTERA) program fit many great experiences into one summer, like volunteering in a community, virtual clinical shadowing and writing workshops. Sometimes it's hard to do everything you need when you're on the pre-health track, and working in a lab has been fantastic. The faculty and researchers are happy to have us there, and I hope to continue working in this lab.

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I’m working in Dr. Paloma Beamer’s lab on a research project that focuses on reducing exposure to volatile chemicals in small businesses, such as hair salons and auto shops. A highlight of the research project was testing the air quality at beauty and auto shops and conversing with people.

The people in the lab speak Spanish, which is important since we focus on Hispanic- and minority-owned businesses. They need to know that their job shouldn't hurt them. Usually, they don't know how toxic certain products can be until we start working with them. We give individual results for each hair stylist and mechanic, so they understand what contains toxic chemicals and can consider swapping them with an alternative. With this research project, there's that satisfaction of impacting someone's life.

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The trip to help with a clean-up in the community of Winchester Heights near Wilcox, Arizona, was enlightening. I learned more about how health inequities exist within a community, like how the number of uninsured people far surpassed the insured. Many people in that community couldn't go to the hospital nearby.

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That experience of talking to people and learning about the detriments of health care in their community is why I wanted to do FRONTERA in the first place.

Tawanda Zvavamwe is a physiology major at the University of Arizona with a minor in emergency medicine and biochemistry.

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I aim to attend medical school to pursue a specialty in emergency medicine, trauma surgery or transplant surgery. These specialties would provide the opportunity to connect with individuals and perform technically challenging procedures, which is what first interested me in the medical field. 

When I'm not in the lab or class, I usually volunteer as an emergency medical technician (EMT) with the University of Arizona Emergency Medical Services. Through volunteering, I've seen patients in the field before they get to the hospital. Every future physician should experience helping a person in critical condition get better over the short period you are with them.

The Border Latino and American Indian Summer Exposure to Research (BLAISER) program has been a blessing in disguise. Initially, I focused on research, but this program also had other benefits. It was an all-encompassing experience for a pre-med student like myself, from MCAT prep and virtual clinical shadowing to all of the support from the program coordinator, Genesis Garcia, and the program director, Dr. Allison Huff.

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For my research project, I'm working in Dr. Brian McKay's lab, where we study how to cure age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness for people. My role investigates how and why a clinically proven drug can help treat the disease. I think we take our vision for granted, and I am fortunate to work on research that directly impacts people. 

Our trip to Wilcox, Arizona, for a community clean-up event left a lasting impression on me – especially the young girl translating between Spanish and English as we worked in groups cleaning up neighborhood streets.

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I grew up in Zimbabwe until I was around 8, and seeing her reminded me of myself. I was that bilingual kid helping my parents navigate a new country. But what stood out most to me was that although I was in a different country with a foreign language, I felt like I was back in Zimbabwe. I experienced a community struggling with a lack of resources but rich with a sense of community and love for their fellow men and women.

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As I reflect on my goal to help cure age-related macular degeneration and revolutionize medicine, experiences like the one we had in Wilcox remind me that even small acts, like picking up trash and giving a voice to a small community, are just as important.