As students we worked with Professor Nina Yamanis and La Clínica del Pueblo, a federally qualified health center in DC that serves Latino immigrants, to examine how the city’s new insurance recertification process affected undocumented immigrants. Support from the Matthew C. Shlonsky Award allowed us to conduct surveys and interviews in the community, which we synthesized into a report highlighting the impacts of the program and how it can be improved. Our official testimony was used in the city's budget oversight hearings to advocate for changes to the funding of the program, in the hopes of improving immigrant health and creating a healthier community for all. 

Being back in school after taking a couple years' break was incredibly intimidating, but my professors, other faculty members, and my cohort showed me that this decision was undeniably the right choice. Everyone in the program has a shared interest in helping each other grow professionally and personally. I served as a member of the IDPSA board, volunteered with the Social Enterprise Association, and was even pushed to start my own cultural pop-up dinner business. I owe it all to my time in the ID program.

I utilized the Tinker-Walker Fellowship to intern at the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur. During my internship, I worked on projects involving Malaysia's economy, specifically trade and investment, as well as ones that pioneered grants for environmental NGOs. Being in the region allowed me to understand the economic and environmental issues that Malays face. I found that one of the most challenging aspects about development is balancing how countries attain economic development without degrading the environment.