I cannot recall exactly what age I was in my adult life when my mother nonchalantly mentioned to me that for a few years in my childhood when my parents were separated, my healthcare coverage was a result of me being covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This pilot program would serve as the model on which the federal government based and created its own program which allows nearly 8 million children to receive routine checkups and preventative care they would most likely not receive without it. Not all programs will be as successful as the aforementioned, but I can think of no better way I would want to invest my time than learning the most efficient ways to successfully communicate and implement effective policies that make a difference in the health of others. As a Hispanic woman and the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I am most interested in serving minority populations gain access to healthcare. I have a long history of bench, clinical and translational research experience that I wish to use in order to create equity advocating for progressive and meaningful health policy changes through data driven efforts. I hope to gain more experience in the public health arena so that I may help break down some of the barriers that so many people face in the United States that prevents them from living their most healthy life. As a first-generation student, I was lucky enough to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Biology at a small Jesuit university that focused on academia and serving the common good. In particular, I took a class called Biological Consequences of Poverty that focused on the strong association between economic destitution globally and poor health outcomes. Most recently I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health in the Health Policy and Management Master's Program. It is here that I hope to become an effective science communicator that works to create equitable and effective solutions to real problems. When I am not working or doing school activities, I have had the immense pleasure to volunteer with the Latino Community Center during their vaccination clinics. so that I could focus on the present and my future as a public health professional. As a Hispanic woman in STEM I hope to add diversity to the current academic community as I advocate for better scientific literacy and health access to those who are currently overlooked. In order to keep my costs low as I continue paying on my undergraduate loans, I am currently a full-time employee of the University of Pittsburgh as a manager of the Mass Spectrometry Core. At this point in my life, this commitment to work and school is my grandest level of scholarly achievement to date and has been extremely tiring but rewarding. As I am cultivating a career I am passionate about, any scholarship funds would allow me to enter the workforce with less debt and more freedom to choose a position that is impactful and meaningful. My undergraduate loans alongside my growing graduate loans have made it more difficult to save money for large life investments down the road and makes me so very appreciative any amount of scholarship I may be able to receive.

Over the past 10 years, my career has mainly been driven by my clinical bench research focused on the inflammatory pathways that are linked to asthma and the de novo synthesis of drug development at the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from John Carroll University, I always knew I wanted to get a Master’s Degree but was not sure in what field until I took a course involving health policy in the United States. This, coupled with many family members that looked to me for advice during the pandemic, made me realize that my passion was in becoming the most effective science communicator I could be and spurred me into finally applying to graduate school. As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I felt there was always more pressure to succeed in order to make my father’s sacrifices more valid and also made me want to give back to the Hispanic community. Wishing to connect with more Latino people I started volunteering with the refugee resettlement group, Hello Neighbor as well as our Latino Community Center. Much of my work with the Latino Community Center has been centered on working with children during vaccination outreach programs and other holiday celebrations of the Hispanic culture. Returning to school, I ran for the position of Secretary on the Pitt Public Health Student Government Association Board and won my seat. In my short time in this position, I have helped to create fun and engaging events for my fellow students that includes everything from off-campus social outings to on-campus food drives. In this position, one of my main duties was to run our social media and I was solely responsible for doubling our online following on both LinkedIn and Instagram. Entering the second year of my program, I was selected to be in a small cohort of Health Justice Scholars where I have been given the opportunity to learn more ways to incorporate diversity, inclusion and equity work into my career going forward. As a Social Justice Scholar, I was invited to events where I was able to network with local Pittsburgh entrepreneurs that are currently working to make our city more welcoming to immigrants. As a result of me reaching out to one non-profit leader in particular, I am now in the early stages of helping them to develop a medical clinic in their planned building expansion to help the growing Latino population in Pittsburgh. At this point in my life, this commitment to work and school is my grandest level of scholarly achievement to date and has been extremely tiring but rewarding. As I am cultivating a career I am passionate about, any scholarship funds would allow me to enter the workforce with less debt and more freedom to choose a position that is impactful and meaningful. Receiving this education as a non-traditional working student allows me to have a more nuanced approach to my studies. My goal is to use my years of clinical and translational science research, alongside my expanding knowledge of Public Health Policy to help create a more inclusive and equitable environment for Latino people and ultimately help shape meaningful change in our healthcare system. I hope that returning to school will also inspire others around me to try new things that may appear scary and prove that it is never too late to change the path you are currently on.

As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I felt there was always more pressure to succeed in order to make my father’s sacrifices more valid and also made me want to give back to the Hispanic community. As a first-generation college student, I was forced to have to figure out a lot of things on my own. Now in my 30's, I have volunteered as a mentor to other First Generation Latino students at the University of Pittsburgh because I know how difficult it can be. Wishing to connect with more Latino people I also started volunteering with the refugee resettlement group, Hello Neighbor as well as our Latino Community Center. Much of my work with the Latino Community Center has been centered on working with children during vaccination outreach programs and other holiday celebrations of the Hispanic culture. Over the past 10 years, my career has mainly been driven by my clinical bench research focused on the inflammatory pathways that are linked to asthma and the de novo synthesis of drug development at the University of Pittsburgh. After receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from John Carroll University, I always knew I wanted to get a Master’s Degree but was not sure in what field until I took a course involving health policy in the United States. This, coupled with many family members that looked to me for advice during the pandemic, made me realize that my passion was in becoming the most effective science communicator I could be and spurred me into finally applying to graduate school. Returning to school as a non-traditional working student allows me to have a more nuanced approach to my studies. My goal is to use my years of clinical and translational science research, alongside my expanding knowledge of Public Health Policy to help create a more inclusive and equitable environment for Latino people and ultimately help shape meaningful change in our healthcare system. In order to keep my costs low as I continue paying on my undergraduate loans, I am currently a full-time graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health and a full-time employee of the University of Pittsburgh as a manager of the Mass Spectrometry Core. At this point in my life, this commitment to work and school is my grandest level of scholarly achievement to date and has been extremely tiring but rewarding. As I am cultivating a career I am passionate about, any scholarship funds would allow me to enter the workforce with less debt and more freedom to choose a position that is impactful and meaningful. I hope that returning to school will also inspire others around me to try new things that may appear to be scary and prove that it is never too late to change the path they are currently on.

As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I was born in Dallas, Texas but was predominantly raised in Pittsburgh, PA where I often felt like a fish out of water. Wishing to connect with more Latino people I started volunteering with a refugee resettlement group, Hello Neighbor and our Latino Community Center. Much of my work with the Latino Community Center has been centered around working with children during vaccination outreach programs and other celebrations of the Hispanic culture. I hope to use my years of clinical and translational science research, alongside my expanding knowledge of Public Health Policy to help create a more inclusive and equitable environment for Latino people in Pittsburgh. My path as a non-traditional student has mainly been driven by my clinical bench research focused on the inflammatory pathways that are linked to asthma over the past 10 years at the University of Pittsburgh. As a first-generation college student, I was so proud to be able to attend university as my parents were never given that opportunity but also often struggled with navigating my path as I had no one to help guide me. After receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from John Carroll University, I always knew I wanted to get a Master’s Degree but was not sure in what field until I took a course involving health policy in the United States. This, coupled with many family members who looked to me for advice during the pandemic due to my background in research, made me realize that my passion was in becoming the most effective science communicator I could be and spurred me into finally applying to graduate school. In order to keep my costs low as I still am paying on my undergraduate loans, this past year I enrolled as a full-time graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health as well as a full-time employee of the University of Pittsburgh as a Research Specialist and Manager of the Mass Spectrometry Core. While this has been an extremely stressful period in my life I often am reminded of how my father moved to the United States at 15 without any family or English-speaking skills and built a life to be proud of. He often worked 2 or 3 jobs at one time to make sure I had access to the best education and extracurriculars he could provide and it is his work ethic that continues to inspire me. As I am cultivating a career I am passionate about, any scholarship funds would allow me to enter the workforce with less debt and more freedom to choose a position that is impactful and meaningful. My undergraduate loans alongside my growing graduate debt have made it more difficult to save money for large life investments down the road and makes me so very appreciative any amount of scholarship I may be able to receive. Thank you for considering me as I help to expand people’s scientific literacy and help rebuild trust in public health institutions.

My path as a non-traditional student has mainly been driven by my clinical bench research focused on the inflammatory pathways that are linked to asthma over the past 10 years at the University of Pittsburgh. As a first-generation college student, I was so proud to be able to attend university as my parents were never given that opportunity but also often struggled with navigating my path as I had no one to help guide me. After receiving my Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from John Carroll University, I always knew I wanted to get a Master’s Degree but was not sure in what field until I took a course involving health policy in the United States. This, coupled with many family members who looked to me for advice during the pandemic due to my background in research, made me realize that my passion was in becoming the most effective science communicator I could be and spurred me into finally applying to graduate school. In order to keep my costs low as I still am paying on my undergraduate loans, I am currently a full-time graduate student in the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health as well as a full-time employee of the University of Pittsburgh as a Research Specialist and Manager of the Mass Spectrometry Core. As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, I was born in Dallas, Texas but was predominantly raised in Pittsburgh, PA where I often felt like a fish out of water. Wishing to connect with more Latino people I started volunteering with a refugee resettlement group, Hello Neighbor and our Latino Community Center. Much of my work with the Latino Community Center has been centered around working with children during vaccination outreach programs and other celebrations of the Hispanic culture. I hope to use my years of clinical and translational science research, alongside my expanding knowledge of Public Health Policy to help create a more inclusive and equitable environment for Latino people in Pittsburgh. As I am cultivating a career I am passionate about, any scholarship funds would allow me to enter the workforce with less debt and more freedom to choose a position that is impactful and meaningful. My undergraduate loans alongside my growing graduate debt have made it more difficult to save money for large life investments down the road and makes me so very appreciative any amount of scholarship I may be able to receive. Thank you for considering me as I help to expand people’s scientific literacy and help rebuild trust in public health institutions.

As the daughter of a Mexican immigrant, my goal is to attain my Master's in Public Health to ultimately become an effective science communicator that helps foster trust in public health institutions while expanding people’s scientific literacy, especially within the Latino community in Pittsburgh and the surrounding area.

I cannot recall exactly what age I was in my adult life when my mother nonchalantly mentioned to me that for a few years in my childhood when my parents were separated, my healthcare coverage was a result of me being covered by the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Originally proposed in the Pennsylvania Senate, this program would serve as the model on which the federal government based and created its own program which allows nearly 8 million children to receive routine checkups and preventative care they would most likely not receive without it. Not all programs will be as successful as the aforementioned, but I can think of no better way I would want to invest my time than learning the most efficient ways to successfully communicate and implement effective policies that make a difference in the health of others. As a first-generation student, I was lucky enough to pursue my Bachelor's Degree in Biology at a small Jesuit university that focused on academia and serving the common good. In particular, I took a class called Biological Consequences of Poverty that focused on the strong association between economic destitution globally and poor health outcomes. This course truly made an impression because it made me aware of the undeniable links between poverty and disease worldwide from which I’d previously been sheltered. Over the past twelve years, I have had the privilege to work for and with some of the smartest and hardest-working doctors and scientists while working at the University of Pittsburgh in both clinical and translational research. I had the wonderful opportunity to work in a clinical lab setting that studies the pathobiology of severe asthma phenotypes. Growing up predominantly in Pittsburgh, no one can forget the old stories of us as a recovering steel town and the terrible air quality that was a result of it. Being a part of the Asthma Institute allowed me to have a better insight into the genetic and environmental conditions that exacerbate the disease, especially in poorer communities. For the last five years, I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a laboratory manager in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology studying the pharmacokinetics of bioactive fatty acids in relation to asthma, heart disease and triple-negative breast cancer. Most recently I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh's School of Public Health as a full-time student in the Health Policy and Management Master's Program. It is here that I hope to become an effective science communicator that works to create equitable and effective solutions to real problems. When I am not working or doing school activities, I have had the immense pleasure to volunteer with the Latino Community Center during their vaccination clinics, as well as at their new headquarters where they work to build community and bridges for those in the local Latinx community. In undergraduate school, despite receiving numerous scholarships and working part-time, I matriculated with a sizeable financial burden that I have been consistently paying down over the past 13 years. To be able to decrease additional mounting debt in graduate school, I am currently working full-time at the University of Pittsburgh in the Mass Spectrometry Core. Any scholarship funds would allow me to pay off my remaining undergraduate loans so that I could focus on the present and my future as a public health professional. As a Hispanic woman in STEM I hope to add diversity to the current academic community as I advocate for better scientific literacy and health access to those who are currently overlooked.

Who is the bravest person you know? For me, it is my dad. Despite only having a fifth-grade education, Horacio Uvalle left his entire family in Mexico at 15, taught himself English, worked three jobs to put me through private school, knows more about U.S history than anyone I know and makes the best flour tortilla in all of Pittsburgh. Watching my dad work tirelessly and without complaint has always spurred my initiative to excel in school and keep a strong work ethic. The opportunity to attend university has never been something I took for granted as I understood how important it meant for my family that I receive a bachelor’s degree as neither of my parents were afforded this luxury. While pursuing my Bachelor of Science in biology, I was lucky enough to attend a small Jesuit university that focused on academia and serving the common good. Over the past twelve years I have had the privilege to work for and with some of the smartest and hardest working doctors and scientists at the University of Pittsburgh in both clinical and translational research. Beginning as a research technician in a Pulmonary Lab, I have worked my way up the ladder to become a laboratory manager in the Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology. My work here allows me to have a better insight into the genetic and environmental conditions that exacerbate diseases like asthma and diabetes that are huge concerns for our entire population, but especially those in the Hispanic community. As a child I often had to be a translator for my father who hated making phone calls due to his thick accent and had a hard time deciphering complicated government documents. While I detested having to do this as a kid, unknowingly, this shaped the person I am today that recognizes the need for multilingual health assistance for our growing and diverse population. This past year I have been volunteering with the Latino Community Center in order to boost outreach vaccination efforts for both COVID-19 and the flu. Watching the pandemic over the past two years and the way it disproportionally affected the poor and most often people of color in the United States lit a fire in me to pursue a master’s in public health. Despite numerous scholarships and some assistance from my parents in my undergraduate studies, the main reason I hesitated to apply to graduate school was that I did not wish to add more burden to the loans I had taken out to complete my first degree. Just this month I was accepted into the University of Pittsburgh's Graduate School of Public Health in the Public Policy and Management program. As a Hispanic woman in STEM, I hope to add to the already diverse atmosphere that they strive to cultivate by bringing both my professional and personal life experiences to the classroom. Overall, my goal is to help foster trust in public health institutions while expanding people’s scientific literacy, especially within the Latino community. I intend to work full time while attending school so any amount of scholarship would mean so very much to me. Receiving loan relief would support my ability to pay off the remaining balance of my undergraduate loans so that I could turn my focus towards my future as a public health advocate.