Hi, my name is Yasmin. I tell people that thanks to my fourth grade teacher, who gave me a book called “Medical Mysteries,” I became interested in Public Health. Back then I thought you had to be a medical doctor to make a difference in health, I did not know that public health existed as a career. From that year I was on track to do something health and science related and during middle and high school, thanks to another wonderful teacher, I discovered research as a way to impact health. Washington being my home and constantly hearing the University of Washington pointed out as a “research institution” I felt that this was the correct school for me to pursue my college education. I was, however, not prepared for becoming just a student number to my professors. Had I not participated in the BRIDGES4 program I would have felt more lost at this University of thousands of students than I believe I could have handled. From the start of my college career I had the support of my fellow BRIDGES4 participants as well as the faculty that had tutored us. I also had a sort of home base with the Health Sciences Center-Minority Students Program.

This home base has become particularly important to me over the last couple of years. I am in my second year of my Masters in Public Health program and I feel gratitude and amazement that this office has had such an impact on my life as a student. My participation in the STAR program prompted (or rather required) me to study and take my GRE and apply to graduate schools one year after completing my undergraduate degree. While this may seem simple, to a first generation college student who had no idea what to expect after graduation, it was not. Having that support and encouragement was a primary reason that I continued with education and am taking it further than I ever imagined I would. The first year in a program and a department that is not as diverse as I expected it to be was difficult for me to handle and having a way to access other students who were in the health sciences and minorities has been important for me.

HSCMSP has provided me with a way to get in contact with other programs. One important program that I feel has impacted my life not only as a student but also as a person has been the Multidisciplinary International Research Training (MIRT) program. This program has afforded me the opportunity to work in Peru with an amazing mentor and in Seattle with an amazing group of individuals. They are supportive of my goals and are pushing me to improve skills that I need and want so that I can continue doing meaningful research. I had lost sight of this during the rush to just be done with my undergraduate degree but because of HSCMSP and the MIRT program I have refocused and am working towards what I have always wanted to do; public health research.

The personal impact from my MIRT experiences stem from this past summer when I was in Peru working on the depression study. On August 15, around 6:40pm there was an 8.0 earthquake. I was in Lima at the time and we felt the earthquake for over two minutes even though the epicenter was 100 miles away in Pisco and Ica . I had only visited these two cities one week prior to the earthquake and had taken a multitude of pictures because aside from public health, photography is my passion. I remember thinking that Ica was the most beautiful city I had ever seen and it wasn't just the architecture or the decorations around town, these things weren't actually that impressive. It was the people that made this city amazing they were so genuine and happy to share their city with us as we toured around I have included some of my favorite pictures of Ica , some of buildings and monuments that were destroyed in the earthquake.

The response from the Peruvian government, though not perfect, was impressive. Their president Alan Garcia was addressing the public within hours of the earthquake, ordering hospitals in Lima to open their doors and admit and treat anyone who came in. This was before it was known how much damage the earthquake had caused and where exactly the most need would be. That night buses containing food and supplies were sent to Ica , Pisco and the surrounding areas that were the hardest hit. Since the earthquake had damaged the main highway severely and buses could not get through, military airplanes were sent to delivery supplies, medicine, food and water. The president himself visited Ica and Pisco to see the extent of the damage and in the course of the next week had made significant progress in addressing the issues in the aftermath of an earthquake where hundreds of people died and 80-90% of the cities were destroyed. Having experienced the earthquake itself and then been there to witness the government take action and the whole world supporting Peru by sending supplies was an impressive testament to what can be done in a time of crisis. I am grateful to the Peruvians I met and worked with for sharing with me their amazing country.