Hometown: Arlington, MA
College attended: University of Wisconsin-Madison
Bachelor of Science, History Major, Pre-Med Qualifications
Fun fact: I have a scar from falling on a starfish.
Favorite quote: "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.” - Albert Einstein
Why did you choose to do AmeriCorps?
I saw AmeriCorps as a way to learn from and contribute to a community that shared my commitment to service and improving health. As a Research Assistant, I learned about health disparities, chronic disease management, and efforts to improve quality of care. Reading papers about these topics, collecting data, and analyzing video of patients with chronic disease visiting the doctor’s office, I became motivated to directly serve people with diabetes who are affected by health disparities. I also wanted to serve anorganization that was committed to increasing access to care and improving quality of care. AmeriCorps and Erie Family Health Center gave me the opportunity to do this.
What are you doing as an AmeriCorps member?
I am serving as anAmeriCorps Health Educator at Erie Family Health Center—Humboldt Park. I assist a variety of health promotion initiatives including the implementation, development, and evaluation of the following programs: Diabetes y Yo, Diabetes Mes por Mes, and Centering Pregnancy. Once a week, I perform one-on-one nutrition and diabetes education counseling with patients who have diabetes or prediabetes. I have created a new patient assessment and meal planning tool for Diabetes Educators.In addition, I collaborate with Rebecca Maddrell to teach healthy living classes for women who have graduated from Erie’s healthy living class, La Vida Sana. Earlier in the year, I coordinated Erie’s involvement in Northwestern's West Humboldt Park Diabetes Initiative kick-off health fair.
What are your plans after AmeriCorps, and how does your year of service apply to your future plans?
I will join the American Diabetes Association as a Project Coordinator. I will work with Lions volunteers to implement diabetes programming and screenings in underserved communities. My year of service will apply greatly to my future plans. My experience performing diabetes counseling, teaching diabetes classes, and coordinating Erie’s involvement in the West Humboldt Park Diabetes Initiative kick-off health fair are just some examples of how my AmeriCorps experience has prepared me for my next step.
Favorite part of CHC so far?
All that I have learned from the people I have met and served with.
Deep Thoughts from the Chicago Health Corps: If you could be any animal, what would you be?
Royal albatross
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