Posted on February 13, 2015
Source: Yury Kuzmichev
Hi! My name is Yury, and I am a Master’s student in the MMI program at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. I joined Generation Tomorrow because I wanted to extend my previous experience researching HIV from the bench to bedside. I was looking for a setting where I could directly interact with people at risk for infectious diseases. I am currently performing HIV and hepatitis C testing and counseling with Sisters Together and Reaching (STAR) as part of their risk-reduction campaign for men and women of color.
Over the past six months, I have performed testing and counseling from STAR’s mobile van units at various Baltimore locations, including the Block, Broadway, and North and Charles streets. I found that even though most people thought they were very well informed about the transmission and dangers of HIV and hepatitis C, many realized they could still learn a lot more about the current situation after further counseling. This shows that STAR and similar agencies are important not only for rapid testing, but also for disseminating knowledge, especially among people at risk.
With that in mind, I believe that being part of Generation Tomorrow and working with STAR has opened an entirely new set of doors for me. I have further reevaluated the importance of education, empathy, and collaboration, which is applicable both at bench, in the field, and in life. This has been an incredible experience so far, and I am very much looking forward to the rest of my time with Cohort 3.
