“It’s not about how much you do, but how much love you put into what

you do that counts.” –

Mother Teresa. When I think about my past, I always remember myself as a little girl smiling at
people and trying to start a conversation. I used to visit my grandfather, who was an old-school
surgeon, in his clinic and enjoy spending time with people. Witnessing my grandfather’s impact
on his patients, who sometimes paid him with food or something valuable for them because of
the lack of resources, made me realize that I definitely wanted to make an impact on people
somehow. Time passed by, and when I graduated high school, I started studying clinical nutrition
back in my country, Guatemala. There, I had the opportunity to start volunteering and working
in three national hospitals, including the largest infectious disease hospital for children in the
country. Even though my job was to create meal plans for pediatric patients according to their
needs and conditions, the most valuable thing for me was listening to their stories and trying to
educate them about healthy eating habits as much as I could. Spending days at the hospital with
my patients made me realize that many of the diseases or conditions, could have been avoided
with adequate primary prevention. Unfortunately, I had to leave my country and moved to the
United States but discovered that there is a scope of opportunities in the health field, including
public health. Remembering how children and many young and inexperienced mothers bear the
responsibility of not only their health but their children's, encouraged me to focus on potential
parents. Integral and well-focused health education about sexuality and reproduction imparted
in children is primordial, considering that education has a higher impact at an early age.

I am a firm believer that education and communication with professionalism prevent further
problems or health complications. For me, this was evident while being surrounded by many
vulnerable children whose parents were as young as 14 years old and were lacking health
education, specifically any sexuality or reproductive guidance. Choosing a major in Health Science
with a concentration in Public Health and a minor in Health Education allows me to transmit the
power of education and at the same time advocating for minority groups who are in need of the
right to health and equality. There are many aspects of this field to improve, develop, and work
on. Research, creating educational programs, adding strengths to existing ones, adapting content
to specific target populations or communities, designing new ways to transmit knowledge, and
promoting positive behavioral patterns (which is the principal determinant of health) are of major
importance to have better outcomes in the public health field. I envision how general wellness
would be improved by an integral, well-focused education in health as a whole which includes
spiritual, intellectual, physical, emotional, environmental, and social dimensions of health.

I will be graduating from my major in Health Science with a concentration in Public Health and a
minor in Health Education this Summer (2021). Afterward, I visualize myself working at a non-
governmental organization where I can educate children from minority groups in sexual and
reproductive health. I will also continue studying towards earning a Master of Public Health
degree to become a better asset not only for my workplace but for our society, which is in need
of expertise. Health is a human right, and in its absence, it is unlikely that a person will reach all
the potential expected. Furthermore, I will help people realize through education that a large
part of their well-being is by taking care of themselves and working on prevention.