Halfway through undergrad: Reflections on the past year

I completed my second year of my undergraduate education a couple of weeks ago. My father recently exclaimed to my mom, “Deborah’s now a junior in college?!” Time flies by so quickly' this is both an exciting and scary thing. Exciting because I'm looking forward to seeing what the future has in store, but scary because sometimes its feel as though time is slipping away from me.

This past semester, spring 2013, was a rough one. Not the roughest one yet, but still rough. I took classes for Organic Chemistry, Global Health, Spanish Conversation & Pronunciation, Immigration, Research Methods, and Latin American Studies. I’ve been seriously reconsidering medicine as a career (and instead thinking about others: perhaps trying to get signed on a record label-haha!, join the Foreign Service, or work to become a Physician's Assistant, Nurse Practitioner, or any other health professional). This is a repeated process at the end of every semester. It’s interesting though, because every time I consider pursuing another career path, I can’t see myself being as dedicated to that profession as I would be to medicine.

Harvard MIRT Summer 2013 Fellows

I am incredibly excited for what this summer has in store. I plan to go to Jamaica for a couple of weeks at the beginning of June to visit my grandmother, aunts, and uncles, and in late June to Chile where I’ll be doing public health research with the MIRT program (Multidisciplinary International Research Training) through the Harvard School of Public Health for two months. Here are the fellows (minus one) chosen to join the summer cohort. The other half of us will be sent to do research in Ethiopia.


So what’s happened in the past year?

My a cappella group, Baraka Kwa Wimbo, has grown. Our name means "Blessing Through Song" in Kiswahili, and we are an all-female Gospel A cappella Ensemble. We've gained 3 new members, had countless rehearsals, done various performances on and off campus, and executed a great spring concert. Everyone is this group is like a sister to me.

Baraka Kwa Wimbo ("Blessings Through Song")

All female Gospel A cappella

This was taken after our Spring 2012 concert. We're arranged in order of height.

I'm all the way in the back.

I took a trip to Guatemala during winter break 2012 with the volunteer organization Maximo Nivel.

Ciudad Viejo, Guatemala

The other volunteer took this picture of me in front of a colorful house
on our way home from the clinic

The Black Bio-Medical & Technical Association (BBMTA) had it's annual conference in February. We invited health professionals to participate in panels, connect with students, and lead workshop sessions. This was a great opportunity to network and learn more about the complexities of healthcare.

BBMTA (Black Bio-Medical & Technical Association) 2013 Annual Spring Conference

March 2013 Farmworker Alternative Spring Break with Rural & Migrant Ministry. Read about the experience here.

Alternative Spring Break 2013 with Rural & Migrant Ministry

We are all students deeply interested in social justice and the advocacy of

migrant farmworker rights.

Below is a photo taken at the April 2013 (Office of Academic and Diverse Initiatives) Diversity in Scholarship & Engagement Symposium. This is the group of OADI Research Scholars. We presented our research at this symposium. My research, which I hope to continue (and develop a bit further) as a senior honors thesis, studied methods (i.e. social interaction, English lessons, etc) that played a role in diminishing the social isolation that migrant Latino farmworkers experienced.

2012-2013 OADI Research Scholars

This was a great year. Very fulfilling, productive, and eventful. I'm grateful for these experiences, the academic challenges, and the wonderful people I've met. I'm looking forward to this summer.