Hi! I’m Elma, a first-generation college student currently at Manhattan University. I’m majoring in Psychology on the pre-med track and plan to minor in Marketing since I believe healing is both science and storytelling. I’m passionate about healthcare, equity, and creative expression. My academic interests include neuroscience, nutrition, and public health—especially how trauma, resilience, and culture intersect to shape well-being. In 2023, I led a student research team at Columbia University’s Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, where we explored community-based, culturally-informed approaches to medicine in underserved populations. Outside the lab, I’m a trained dancer and performer who sees art as a form of medicine in its own right. I’ve studied Bollywood, Latin, modern, and Afrobeat, and performed in my high school’s SING! musical theater program, along with other community-based dance platforms. For me, movement and representation are powerful tools for healing and connection. Whether I’m researching health disparities, designing community projects, or building platforms for others to be seen, I bring curiosity, grit, and heart to everything I do. My mission is to reimagine what care looks like, through science, storytelling, and strategy. To me, education isn’t just about attending institutions ; it’s about transforming them. My goal is to leave every space I enter more equitable, more creative, and more honest than how I found it.