John Mendez ’24, a global health and biology double major from Lawrence, Massachusetts, has plans to earn a master’s of public health degree followed by a medical degree. During an internship in a Dominican Republic hospital, he experienced a different side of healthcare from that of the U.S.
While in the Dominican Republic, Mendez met the local community and shadowed physicians and other medical professionals. He saw how they adapted to a shortage of resources and how their knowledge of their community made them more effective. Understanding local limitations can lead to adjusting prevention programs to make them more successful.
Mendez, who plans to take a gap year to apply for master’s programs and gain more experience in the health industry, has learned that almost everything can impact population and individual health, “whether it is the way you eat or the place you live; everything impacts health.”