The scent of antiseptic and tapioca pudding wafted through the air. Placing the empty food tray on my borrowed cot, I glanced around my grandparents' shared room. Clunky metal beds, a suitcase full of clothes, and a bulletin board on the wall filled with doctor notes and medication lists.
Radiate Health is my UCLA Health Equity Challenge project that centers around an HIV self-testing kit tailored to the Latinx community that hopes to increase frequent testing, reduce the negative stigma around HIV, and increase HIV education.
Grandma Lul and Grandpa Ghebreab first came to live with my family when I was three years old. They were my mother's parents and traveled the same long path that brought my mother and father to the U.S. from a small country in the Horn of Africa, called Eritrea. I didn’t know it then, but over the years, my grandparents and I would form an unbreakable bond.
Steaming, juicy soup dumplings, spicy tender beef soup with thick knife-cut noodles, and refreshing iced boba milk tea with sugar adjusted so it’s not-too-sweet. These are some of the imagery that often pop into one’s mind when speaking about the San Gabriel Valley.
On a Monday morning in December 2002, the improper dismantling of a mortar shell by workers at a local metal recycler in Watts sent a 40-pound cannon round 1,000 feet into the air. On descent, it landed in the baseball field of David Starr Jordan High School, which stands directly adjacent to the facility. At the time, no students were present on the field (luckily).
When reflecting upon this quote, I pondered on the meaning of thrive. In various interpretations, thrive was defined as growth, prosperity, and bloom. For many communities, past, present, and evolving barriers make it challenging to thrive in systems that were not built with everyone in mind.
During my fourth year of medical school, someone I loved passed away from suicide. While I cycled through different stages of grief, I realized I had to stop asking myself, “What could I have done differently?” and instead start asking, “What can I do differently?”
I serendipitously ventured into the world of health education in 2014 as a sophomore at the University of Southern California (USC). As I walked through a sea of students during a campus club and student organizations fair, I was handed a flyer for the student organization Peer Health Exchange (PHE).
As a primary care doctor, I learned early in medical training that a small fraction of health is determined by clinic visits and hospital stays. Pills only work if you can afford them.
Remember, never give up — your voice resonates with power, and you possess the capability to make the world a better place and create a brighter tomorrow.
