My name is Dominic Antonich, and I am a graduating senior from the University of California, Berkeley (Cal) studying Microbial Biology and minoring in Ethnic Studies. During my time at Cal, I participated as a community health worker both on and off campus providing physical and mental health services to community members. Through this program, I also lead a weekly outreach campaign that provided information covering various topics regarding sexual health. In addition, I volunteered at local East Bay public schools to teach and engage students in conversations about various issues affecting the LGBTQ+ community. I am currently finishing a research project in the Traxler lab that focuses on the genetics and metabolism of a novel antibiotic that our team discovered. In the future, I intend to pursue a Masters in Public Health, specifically aiming to study topics within public health microbiology. In my future work, I hope to address many of the health disparities within the LGBTQ+ community, with a specific focus on the inequities facing BIPOC. With the opportunity to participate in the Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars Program, I hope to further my knowledge around health inequities facing many communities and become a more effective, competent, and responsible public health professional. In my free time, I enjoy cooking and photography!
I am Daja Halima Jackson, a rising senior on the biology pre-medicine track at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU). During my time at FAMU, I have excelled in my studies and made a difference in my community as a member of Kappa Psi Psi Healthcare Sorority Inc. and The Beta Alpha Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., where I have served as the Global Impact Chair, membership co-chair, and assistant secretary. Additionally, I served as public relations chair for FAMU’s Physicians in Training and worked for FAMU as a First Year Experience Peer Mentor and lab assistant for the School of Allied Health Sciences. I am grateful to be able to currently shadow a physician and surgeon here in Tallahassee and to have received the Atlantis Fellowship during which I spent a summer in Lisbon, Portugal, shadowing doctors and interacting with international patients. It is my hope to use my future degree to become a physician, give back to underserved communities, and be a voice for the voiceless. I am also thankful to be able to participate in a program as rewarding and prestigious as the Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars Program at Johns Hopkins University, and eager to take advantage of all the knowledge and experiences it has to offer.
I am Dai’Shona Jones, a rising senior majoring in psychology at Morgan State University. As a first-generation college student on track to graduate, I feel as if the bar is set really high for me. I have always been involved extracurricular activities which allow me to meet so many people and break my shell of shyness. Coming to college was the first big step and getting involved with extracurricular groups has helped me grow in so many ways. Since freshman year I have served in numerous roles and joined a few organizations such as Class Coordinator Fall 2018, and Class Vice President spring 2018-spring 2021. I have been newly elected as the Student Government Association Vice President for the 2021-2022 academic school year. I joined the university choir, the Dancers of Praise, as well as The Alpha Delta Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. where I served as Secretary in the fall of 2020, Vice President for spring 2021, and I am now the newly elected President. While doing all of this, I still manage to hold a 3.6 GPA, work hard in the ASCEND Research Program, and enjoy my personal life. I am currently working on a project centered around racialized sexual violence. In the future, I plan to work as a clinical psychologist focusing on substance abuse. I am honored to be given the opportunity to participate in the Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars Program at John Hopkins University, and I am eager to begin to learn all that I can.
My name is Thalia Le and I am a rising senior, studying Chemistry and Biology, at Emory University. As a child of immigrants from Vietnam, I grew up in a developing country whose medical system was significantly hindered by healthcare inequalities shaped by socioeconomic factors such as overpopulation and lack of government funding. I knew that the ugliness of healthcare disparities was beyond what the statistics on news articles could report. That is why I am truly excited to join the Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars program and look forward to developing a project to bridge global health inequities, specifically among HIV and HCV patient populations. My previous research experience at Emory University involves the Design and Synthesis of Novel RSV Fusion Protein Inhibitors under the supervision of Dr. Dennis Liotta as well as "the rescue effects of the human EXOSC3 gene on genetically modified Drosophila flies with modeled Pontocerebellar Hypoplasia” under the supervision of Dr. Anita Corbett. I am also the Director of the Programming Committee of the Kidney Disease Screening and Awareness Program (KDSAP) chapter at Emory, a nationally affiliated student-run organization that trains college volunteers to hold public screenings and raise awareness of kidney diseases and I serve as the Events Director for Emory Undergraduate Medical Review. My career goal is to pursue an MD or MD/PhD and serve underprivileged communities.
Hello, my name is Mihret Niguse and I am a third year student at the University of Virginia (UVA). I am a Psychology and Sociology double major on a pre-med track who hopes to attend medical school and become a pediatrician. At UVA, I work as a research assistant in a psychology research lab and worked previously in a pathology lab through UVA medical school. I am also a first-generation college student who was awarded a full academic scholarship through a scholarship program called QuestBridge. Outside of academics, I am the president of my cultural organization, the Ethiopian-Eritrean Student Association (EESA) which I am greatly passionate about and also a hairstylist on campus! My experiences along with my Psychology and Sociology majors have heavily informed my interest in learning about social determinants of health and health disparities. Through Johns Hopkins’ Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars program, I am excited to be exposed to current advances in studying HIV and Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in order to help underserved communities. As someone who is also heavily interested in providing care to underserved populations, I believe that research through Johns Hopkins’ Summer Internship Program would allow me to further study health disparities and mold me into a more informed and culturally competent future physician.
My name is Austin Rios, and I am an undergraduate at the University of Texas at Dallas majoring in Biochemistry with a minor in Psychology. With first-hand experience of the barriers to accessing healthcare, I am committed to help reduce health disparities. I am a volunteer medical assistant and Spanish interpreter at the Agape Clinic, one of the few Dallas-based clinics for the indigent. I am a proud product of the Summer Health Professions Education Program at UT Health Houston and the Pre-Medical Enrichment Program at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. In 2022, I will become a University of Texas System Bill Archer Fellow. Above all, I aspire to work as a physician in under-resourced communities. Outside of academics, I am a clarinetist, horror movie fanatic & dog lover.
My name is Je’Coven Smith. I am a rising senior who attends the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, about two hours outside of my hometown, Jacksonville. My major of study is Sociology and I follow the pre-medical track due to my current aspirations of being a Psychiatrist. I would like to specialize in one the following fields: Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Emergency Psychiatry, Sports Psychiatry, and Addiction Psychiatry. In regard to my campus involvement, I am currently involved in a number of organizations. Some of these organizations include, but are not limited to, The Black Male Excellence Network at the University of Florida (BMEN), The Equal Access Clinic Network (EAQN), and The Black Men in Psychiatry Early Pipeline Program sponsored by the American Psychiatric Association (BMPEPP). My upbringing was unfortunate, to say the least; allowing me to experience injustice and inequity within my community from a young age. As I attained more knowledge, I began to question why reality was different between marginalized and unmarginalized communities, and then it finally hit me- I don’t know. Okay, it didn’t go quite like that; I’ve had many experiences with death, and the questions I have for life have led me down this path. That, and the love that I share for everyone else in this world. Due to the talents and characteristics that I possess, I believe the best way for me to spread love is through the use of Psychiatry, amongst other things. It is a blessing to receive such an opportunity to participate in the 2021 Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars program! I hope to impact this experience with Johns Hopkins in the same magnificent way this program will impact my personal and professional development. Thank you for this opportunity!
My name is Sedona Walker and I am a third-year student at the University of Pittsburgh from Middletown, Delaware. I am a double major in Psychology and Natural Sciences while minoring in Korean and Chemistry. At the University of Pittsburgh, I am a student research assistant working on projects within the UPMC Center for Adolescent and Young Adult Health research lab related to adolescents, gender-based violence, and trauma-informed approaches. I currently volunteer with the AHN hospice program, calling patients weekly to lend a listening ear of support. I am an avid member of my school’s gospel choir and a mentor for the Pre-Medical Organization for Minority Students. My goal is to earn a dual degree in medicine and public health. I want to spend my life improving the quality and accessibility of healthcare for underserved populations from a physician and community health perspective. My favorite hobbies include singing, watching musicals, and traveling
My name is Kevin Wright Jr. and I am currently a senior at St. John's University in New York majoring in Biology with minors in Chemistry and Philosophy. As a gay African American man, I have always been known to be passionate about my desire to become a physician that would add to the culture and diversity of healthcare within the LGBTQ+ community. As a future healthcare professional, I believe it is important to understand the value of research which aids in the development of medicine and lifelong learning. At my university, I continue to be heavily immersed in programs that both focus on mentorship as well as research to help guide future healthcare professionals to further empower themselves through learning. As a leader within my university's Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Scholars Program, I was also allowed to work with NAHSE Baltimore as a Health Administration Scholar last year. This is a non-profit association of minority health care executives founded in 1968 to promote the advancement and development of minority health care leaders and elevate the quality of health care services rendered to minority and underserved communities. In my spare time, I also enjoy gaming, travel, movies, and music. With Generation Tomorrow: Summer Health Disparity Scholars, I am excited to gain more knowledge on the field of HIV which affects my community so heavily.
