Karishma spent 4 years working towards a Public Health Science degree and taking deep dives into global health, child/maternal health, and addressing social determinants of health, both in the US and in Denmark. Over the past 4 years, she created a strong relationship with her community and learned about current social issues through her internship with Community Empowerment Network (CEN) Haiti and volunteering with Maryland Mentor Corps (MMC) and One Tent Health. With CEN Haiti, she demonstrated her passion for global health/development and enhanced her graphic design skills as a digital marketing intern to increase donor involvement, share information and make connections. Her time with MMC shed light on the social issues occurring within the educational system and the systemic impact this has on low-income neighborhoods of color. Meanwhile, volunteering at One Tent Health strengthened her commitment to advancing health and racial equity by providing free services, resources, and information to underserved neighborhoods. In addition to this, she finished up her last semester at the University of Maryland conducting and synthesizing online research from multiple sources to curate her thesis on female genital mutilation as part of my capstone project, thus demonstrating excellent writing skills.

I recently had the opportunity to attend the Active Living Conference, which primarily focuses on research around physical activity and initiatives that aim to increase movement within communities and nationwide. This conference took place at the National Institute of Health, in Bethesda, Maryland, which is home to cutting- edge biomedical research. Bethesda is a well-developed city outside of DC, located in Montgomery County, a county that I have called home for over a decade now. Needless to say, I was honored and ecstatic to be a part of the synergy in this space and witness the beauty of intersectionality across multiple professions. At this conference, I was pleasantly surprised to find a diverse range of working professionals, including but not limited to landscape architects, epidemiologists, students, public health professionals, physicians and researchers. This unique junction led to innovative and exciting conversations that will (hopefully) create meaningful change. As much as I would love to recap all of these exciting moments, for time sake I will share a takeaway that stayed with me past the conference. 

On the first day of the conference, I attended a thought-provoking workshop that exposed me to the idea of community connectors. The facilitators of this workshop work with the Denver Community Active Living Coalition as Community Connectors that empower local community members and organizations with microgrant-funding to enhance opportunities for physical activity and healthy living. The Community Connectors have a personal tie to their community, which creates an interpersonal element to their work. In this workshop, we had a pretend town hall, where each of the ~30 participants were given a prompt that outlined their context as a community member, ranging from parents, teachers, crossing guards, police officers, children, a community connector, a nonverbal person, a translator and so on. In this exercise, we discussed transportation and infrastructure issues that we were impacted by collectively. As a group, we, the participants, embodied the needs of our fictitious community, which led to insightful discussion. Through this workshop, I realized how important advocacy work is and realized that I could see myself as a community connector in the future. 

This eye-opening experience stayed with me throughout the entire conference, priming me to keep an open mind as I soaked up research from all fields of work, using various tools and resources. As a young person early in my career, I am at a point where I get to learn and explore positions and ideas that would have never crossed my mind. Through this conference, I learned that advocacy work, community health and mobility justice all peak my interest. As I mentally transition out of conference mode and back to my fellowship, it can be easy to return to my hermit shell in my own scope of work, but I want to challenge myself to continue conversations of interest. Throughout my fellowship, I’ve been determined to conduct informational interviews. Although I’ve taken a bit of a pause during a hectic March, I want to push myself to reach out to people and learn about what they do and how they got there. The best part about conferences are the connections created, and there is no better time like the present to harness the power of networking. Who knows, I might stumble upon my dream job.

I close my eyes, breathing in the scent of nature around me, the air distinctly fresher and crisper than in the bustling city of DC. A shiver runs down my spine as a frigid breeze somehow penetrates my many layers of clothing. My ears strain to hear distant birds chirping, the only sound cutting the almost eerie silence that engulfs me. I open my eyes, and a sea of green washes over me. Tall and strong, yet seemingly nimble, the fluffy moss-covered trees provide a safe and comforting company. The extrovert in me dissipates, and I want to lean into these wise, old trees and listen to all their secrets. The solace that finds me in this space warms my heart, as I sit crisscross-applesauce in the dirt, craning my neck to admire the lanky green columns with leaves that graze the sky. I am at peace. 

I had the pleasure of having this scenic experience on a fellows gathering in Olympic National Park. There is no packing list that could have prepared me for the forty degree weather accompanied with constant rain, but the memories made and connections created on this mystical trip will stay with me forever. This trip brought together assistance program fellows and mentors from across the country for a week of professional development, learning, and community building. Each day was filled with adventure, but since I can’t fit the entire trip in this blog, I’ll tell you about the moments that made a significant impact on me. 

One of the professional development activities we did shed light on the way one leads, with each leadership style linked to a direction on a compass. In this scenario, North leaders typically take charge, West leaders are more detail-oriented, East leaders seek the bigger picture, and South leaders take the emotions of others into account. We were asked to stand with the leadership style that we resonated with the most (North, East, South or West), and have a discussion about working preferences, compatibility with other leadership styles and how we like to be supported at work. These were all questions I had never asked myself before, and it was validating to talk to people similar to me. From this exercise, I learned that right now, I am an East, someone that likes to see the bigger picture. I now know that asking more questions or seeking extra guidance brings me the clarity I need to be more confident in my work. The beauty of this activity is that the direction one most resonates with may change over time as one changes as a person. Understanding one’s work style is an activity that can last a lifetime as we continue to evolve. 

While I enjoyed the moments of self-reflection peppered throughout the week, getting to know fellows across the country was one of the best parts of this trip. As much as I appreciate the benefits of teleworking, it can be challenging to truly get to know one another. Thankfully, opportunities like this gathering help to bridge that gap. I am grateful for the chance to explore a magical, secluded place with people that slowly became friends over the course of a week. I will cherish the memories of canoeing for hours on a (luckily) sunny day, telling spooky ghost stories huddled near the fire under shelter amidst the rain, losing my breath hiking up slippery, snowy mountains in clunky rain boots, feeding friendly raccoons popcorn and making fun of Twilight’s poor acting. These are the memories that will stay with me past this fellowship. 

The SHIFT conference was an exciting part of the start of my fellowship. This conference was based in Fort Collins, Colorado in mid-October, focusing on the positive preventative effects of equitable access to nature. As a recent public health graduate working in the Office of Outdoor Recreation, I was thrilled to participate in an event where scholars, researchers and members of the wellness and recreation space come together to discuss developments in health. The entire week-long conference was very insightful, but there are a couple of moments that stood out to me that I want to share.