Maria Sara ValleÂ
Global Learning Medallion ePortfolio
Medical Brigade to Costa Rica Volunteer
I volunteered in this medical brigade during Spring Break 2019. Our group traveled to San Jose, Costa Rica to provide basic primary care to children and adults from underprivileged areas. Most of our patients were Nicaraguan immigrants living in Costa Rica who did not have access to medical care. With the guidance of a PA and a Doctor, we measured blood pressure, blood glucose levels, BMI, listened to the heart and lungs, looked in ears, and took medical histories. For the children, we also measured their vision, looked for cavities in their teeth and taught them how to brush them properly, checked for scoliosis, and looked out for signs of abuse. We also fundraised money and bought a lot of soaps, creams, and OTC medications that the doctor gave out to the families that needed them. This experience really changed my perspective on global health and opened my eyes to the difficulties that many people around the world face. Seeing many of the immigrant children not getting the proper medical and dental care that they deserved was heartbreaking. I felt privileged to be able to share those moments with such wonderful people and offer them a hand during tough times. I look forward to continue doing medical brigades in the future when I have more medical knowledge. Another great aspect of this trip was being able to live with a Costa Rican family and truly immerse ourselves in their culture. I believe that cultural humility is immensely important for everyone especially in such a diverse city like Miami and thus being able to have so many one on one experiences with people from other countries was a wonderful learning experience. Above you can see a picture of me teaching a young boy how to properly brush his teeth with a mouth model made of soda bottles and cardboard.
Peer-Led Team Learning (PLTL)
As a PLTL leader, I would attend a weekly session with other Biology leaders and review General Biology 2 topics that we had learned the semester before. Then I would meet with a small group of current Gen. Biology 2 students and guide them through a worksheet discussing those weekly topics. My job as a leader was to help them arrive at the answer without giving them the answers and to promote discussion of the topic. It was a great experience to learn about nature and biology from students currently taking the class and be able to help them while learning from each of their perspectives as well. We discussed many topics that also involved Ecology and were able to learn about global climate change, the diversity of plant and animal species, human biology, and much more. I also got a lot of experience leading students in discussions, listening, and asking open-ended questions. It helped me be more comfortable
during public speaking and while explaining scientific concepts, which are skills that will benefit me in the future.
Honors College Leadership Council
As a member of the Honors College Leadership Council, my peers and I help advise the Honors staff on classes and activities that would
benefit students. We formed an interdisciplinary team where some classmates and myself represented other STEM Honors students and other members were made up of art majors, pre-law, music, and more. It was a very diverse cohort of students discussing ways in which the Honors College could improve/what was helpful to us so they could create the most beneficial experience for Honors students. During my time on the council, we helped restructure the introduction courses to be more useful for students and advised on changing some classes into semester-long courses instead of year-long courses. The Honors staff implemented a few of our ideas and it was a great opportunity for me to work closely with other student leaders of different backgrounds and the amazing staff. I was also a part of a subcommittee where we reviewed students' anonymous tips and presented them to the staff. I have participated in four student panels to answer questions of incoming Honors freshmen or transfer students. Also, I have been in several engagement videos for the Honors College which you can find linked down below.