Hi everybody! My name is Janice Im, and I am a senior pursuing a sociology major, a chemistry minor, with a Global Studies certificate on the Health and Wellness track with plans to graduate April of 2020 at the University of Pittsburgh.
Through pursuing my Global Studies certificate, I have become extremely passionate about health inequities, access to health care, and serving the underserved communities within a global context. My understanding of these subject areas has been greatly enhanced by learning both within and outside the classroom. Whenever possible, I have channeled lingering questions or frustrations into productive research pursuits, such as exploring barriers to accessing mental health care services for indigenous women who have experienced domestic violence in Ecuador.
My dream in the future is to attend medical school and become a physician who can bridge the gap between medicine and public health, serve within global health contexts, and continue to fight for ways to make health care more accessible to underserved communities. However, I hope that no matter where I go, I can continue the thread of global studies and learning that I have started at Pitt. I am an extremely curious learner, and am continuously stumbling upon new global health topics that I am interested in. For example, through my senior year coursework, I have become newly interested in the history of global drugs, and also the health care needs of refugees and migrants who are a part of the massive global migration crisis today.
