Q: Please tell us about yourself. Where did you live before Seattle and what were you doing?

A: I was born and raised in Houston, Texas. I spent my undergraduate years studying engineering in Charlottesville, Virginia at the University of Virginia. After graduation, I spent a year in Guatemala doing public health work with an initiative that I joined at UVA. I spent 4 months in the Lake Atitlan Basin and the rest of my time in Quetzaltenango (or Xela), the second largest city. In Guatemala, I was working on women’s health education, nutrition education, and water quality testing.

Q: What’s your academic focus and what research are you doing as a Research Assistant (RA)?

A: My academic focus is still pretty broad as I learn about all of the different facets of global health. However, because of my previous experiences, I am interested in health in Latin America and the Caribbean. Currently, I am working as an RA at Health Alliance International (HAI) where I am working on evaluation and data analysis of the sub-award recipients for the C’ôte d’Ivoire team.

Q: What’s been the most valuable part of your Research Assistantship thus far?

A: Thus far, the most valuable part of my RA-ship has been access to the amazing public health minds at HAI. I have been able to talk with many different people at HAI one-on-one, and they have really helped me understand global health and all of the different career paths open to me.