From the Classroom to the Real World: A Chance to Address Health Disparities in Chicago with NHC Chicago

My name is Ureka Ajawara and I am from Fremont, California. This past May I graduated with a B.S. in Biology and a minor in Black Studies from Allegheny College in Meadville, Pennsylvania. During my undergraduate career, I worked a few different jobs, but most notably I worked as a student first aid provider for the athletic training office at the college and was a volunteer Health Coach with the Meadville Medical Center.

As Student First Aid Provider, I worked closely with the varsity athletes on campus, mainly the football and basketball teams, as an aid for the Athletic Trainers assisting with injury prevention and rehabilitation during practices and official contests. As Health Coach, my main focus was serve as the link between patients with chronic disease conditions and their professional health care team.

In my free time, you can catch me planning day trips (I love a good beach day or a fun afternoon in the city), going to the movies, hanging out with my family and friends, cooking a good meal, or just kicking back and catching up on many of my T.V. shows!

What I am looking forward to most in the upcoming service term is moving to a new city and helping address health disparity issues on the southside of Chicago. Having minored in Black Studies, there we discussions on the injustices, social and otherwise, of not only blacks in America but many other disadvantaged populations in the United States. This inspired me to do a year of service with NHC Chicago as a Community Health Worker at Advocate Trinity Hospital to combat some of the issues that I learned about in the classroom in a real and tangible way. I am hoping that by serving people who are affected by the shortcomings of the  U.S. health care system, I can make a difference in their lives while also learning how to better serve patients I may have in the future as a physician.

This blog post was written by incoming NHC Chicago 2016-17 member Ureka Ajawara.

Ureka looks forward to serving as the Community Health Worker at Advocate Trinity Hospital.