My name is Michelle Alyssa Tran, and I am an undergraduate student at Rice University in Houston, Texas. I am studying biochemistry and cell biology and minoring in poverty, justice and human capabilities. I will be attending medical school in New York City after I graduate, and hope to pursue a career dedicated to gynecologic cancer and helping women in disadvantaged settings receive the best quality care and treatment possible.

In the summer of 2016, I received funding from the Rice Loewenstern Fellowship to serve and study abroad through an healthcare internship with the Foundation for Sustainable Development (FSD) in Masaya, Nicaragua. For nine weeks, I lived with a host family and worked in the Centro de Salud Monimbó, a public health center in the southern district of Masaya that offers free health services to residents of low socioeconomic background.

While there, I started up a girl’s leadership club called Chicas Poderosas in a local secondary school to help create educated peer health advocates who are motivated to help their communities improve their health. Through interactive bi-weekly sessions, I worked directly with a group of 35 adolescents to cover themes of sexual and reproductive health, domestic violence, and environmental health. I then supported the girls’ efforts to spearhead their own community outreach efforts, some of which included developing a school poster campaign addressing false myths about contraceptives and teaching primary school students about the public health effects of littering. Leadership was selected within the group as well as from staff at health center to ensure the continuity of the club beyond my internship.

I also formed a teenage pregnancy support group at a neighborhood health post to offer a workshop series on infant care (breastfeeding, bathing, burping, etc.), diet during pregnancy, and postpartum care. I was able to reach out to over 15 different mothers and develop a social support network amongst the participants and the attending doctor and nurse. At the midpoint of my experience, I received a $600+ grant from FSD to financially support the continuity of both my initiatives.

During the rest of my time, I shadowed and assisted doctors and nurses at the main health center as well as aided and accompanied them in their outreach to rural and urban health posts.

All in all, my time in Masaya, Nicaragua was an incredible learning experience that I will never forget. Please feel free to browse through my blog and read about some of my stories and reflections. Please also feel free to check out the Wikipedia article that I created upon returning to the states, which is on Healthcare in Nicaragua. Thanks for visiting, and please feel free to reach me at michellet987@gmail.com if you have any questions.