Author: Daniela Ameijeiras Mena | Major: Public Health | Semester: Fall 2021
My name is Daniela Ameijeiras Mena and I am a Public Health major at the University of Arkansas. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, but now I call Houston, Texas my home. My goal is to attend Physician Assistant school and become a Physician Assistant working in emergency medicine. My freshman year of college I had the wonderful opportunity to conduct research with my Introduction to Public Health professor. Dr. Dobbs has given me so much guidance and has become a mentor for me, not only in the Public Health world, but in life.
Our goal with our research was to discover COVID-19 perceptions in Puerto Rico. We did this through surveys that were distributed through online platforms (instagram, twitter, facebook, etc.) that were in both English and Spanish so they could be more accessible to the general public of Puerto Rico. We collected a lot of great data from this research and were then able to present at the American Public Health Association conference in Denver, Colorado. I attended this conference through zoom on October 26, 2021. Being able to present at this conference was an overall amazing experience for me. Although I was really extremely nervous to be presenting in front of Public Health professionals, I stuck it through and presented to the audience. I got several private messages on zoom telling me I did a good job which was really nice to hear, especially after being nervous to present. Another researcher also reached out to me and asked if we could compare data. The research she was conducting was also over Puerto Rico and she was studying at Emory University. I like how these conferences bring together people from all over the country with the same interests. That is something very special. I also met a fellow undergraduate student that was presenting via zoom at the conference as well.
Realizing how many I met only over zoom, I can’t even imagine the connections that are made attending the conference in person. The other undergraduate that reached out to me studies at San Jose University in California. She messaged me and told me how nice it was to see a fellow undergraduate student presenting at an event like this. My presentation was only about fifteen minutes, but I learned a lot from those fifteen minutes. I learned how to have confidence in myself, even when I thought I was not the most qualified or had doubts in myself, no matter what I was going to present and it is better to go into it with the mindset of confidence. My advice for other students that are interested in presenting at a conference in their field is do it with confidence, even if you’re faking it. The world is not going to end if you stutter in mess up, know your stuff and own what you are doing. I am about to start a new research project with Dr. Dobbs and grad student Abbie Luzius over disinformation of COVID-19 treatment methods in communities of color. I am so beyond grateful for these opportunities I have gotten.
I want to give a huge thank you to the Honors College for giving me the funding for this opportunity. I want to give another giant thank you to my mentor Dr. Dobbs, I would not be where I am today without you.