My City July 2022

MYCOMMUNITY

“ N ever apologize for asking. As your instructors, we’re here to do everything we can do to help you succeed.” is is what Dr. Tang said to me after I apologized for asking him for multiple letters of recommendation. I feel that this interaction is representative of the University of Michi gan-Flint. Because of this university, I have been supported and inspired in everything I have done. e professors, students and aid that Flint has provided allowed me to discover and pursue new passions. Because of this, I was able to go out and follow my dreams of furthering my academics in public health. is semester, I was fortunate enough to be accepted into the graduate schools of Yale, Columbia and George Washington. ank you, UM-Flint, for uncovering my public health and environmental passions, and provid ing me the launchpad for my future career. I graduated this May with a biology degree with minors in chemistry and psychology. e foundation that UM-Flint provided me gave me the con„dence and ability to further my education. I have o…cially committed to Yale School of Public Health to get my MPH in Environmental Health Sciences with a concentration in climate change. M y education at the University of Michigan-Flint has prepared me to become a competent clinical laboratory scientist as well as problem-solve situations and unexpected challenges in the workplace. rough all the twists and turns I faced throughout my college career, I learned to be persistent and persevere through challenges to accomplish my goals. Each class that I have taken throughout college has solidi„ed my plans to work in the clinical laboratory. I am complet ing my „nal classes before my internship begins at Detroit Medical Center in September. When I look back on my four years at the University of Michigan-Flint, I stepped onto campus as a timid freshman, and I am leaving as a well-rounded, independent woman, ready to face whatever challenges come my way in the future. B oth the instructional and extracurricular experiences I have been fortunate enough to be involved with at the University over the last three years have greatly expanded my abilities as a student, in addition to my capacity to educate others. Although I possessed many areas of interest prior to entering the University, my infatuation with anthropology and linguistics was solidi„ed through the programs, educators and extracurricular experiences o‹ered at this institution. In past semesters, I have explored topics such as historical and modern impacts upon Alaska Native subsistence practices, including physical and mental health issues and cultural outcomes. InŽuenced by my own experiences and education, as well as a desire to bring light to nationwide struggles with rural poverty, I have also completed a literature review within UM-Flint’s Senior Seminar course, in which I discussed and analyzed the structural barriers to aging comfortably experienced by the rural American elderly. After completing my undergraduate education, I aspire to attend a PhD graduate program to conduct further research in the „eld of sociocultural anthropology, particularly in the areas of kinship, culture and class, and how these areas of social life intertwine with the American medical system. Prior to attending, however, I plan to spend at least a year working within my community, providing English teaching services for those learning the language either natively or as an additional language, and study ing the connections language has to socioeconomic standing. 

Nicole-Kristine Smith Bachelor of Science, Biology Grand Blanc, MI

Jaycie Bos Bachelor of Science, Clinical Laboratory Studies Grand Rapids, MI

Jude Krajnyák Bachelor of Arts, Anthropology Clio, MI

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