Category: College Health Equity Ambassadors

Jide’ Reddick, originally from Rockingham, North Carolina graduated from Richmond Senior High School and is currently a senior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) pursuing a B.S. in Public Health with a concentration in Community Health Education. Two of Jide’s greatest accomplishments throughout college would be his induction into the Pi Zeta Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Incorporated and the Alpha Nu Chapter of Eta Sigma Gamma National Honor Society for Public Health. He also serves as the Student Organizational Senator for the Student Government Association. Jide’ is expected to graduate May 2014, and he is the first in his family to attend and graduate college from a 4 year university. Lastly, he was recently accepted into the Premedical Post-Baccalaureate program at the UNCG for the fall 2014. This program will allow him to obtain his pre-requisite courses for Medical School. His future plans are to apply to Medical School in 2016, and ultimately obtain a career in pediatrics.

Kiara Redice is a senior Psychology major, Rehabilitation Studies minor at Winston-Salem State University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2014. Kiara was born and raised in Charlotte, NC and attended West Charlotte High School. As an active student Kiara is involved in the Psychology club at WSSU where she serves as the chair of the public relations committee and she is also a member of the International Honors Society in Psychology. Upon graduation in May 2014, Kiara plans to attend graduate school to obtain her masters in Clinical Psychology. Kiara finds it fortunate to be able to work with Dr. Mount and is excited of the opportunities and experience she will gain.

Jessica Hall, from Union, South Carolina, is a rising Senior Health and Exercise Science major Sociology Minor at Wake Forest University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2014. Jessica is currently pursuing her dreams of becoming a pediatrician addressing the special health care needs of medically underserved communities. As an active student on Wake Forest Campus, Jessica is involved in a number of campus activities serving the Wake Forest community. In the summer of 2012, she studied at Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra, Santiago, Dominican Republic participating in a total language immersion program studying public health with a focus on the health/illness process. In this program she looked at the multi-dimensional nature of health, preventative medical programs, and primary healthcare administration through involvement in health-related community services. She also advanced her conversational Spanish with a focus on mastering medical terminology. Upon graduation in May 2014, Jessica desires to enter a Pre-medical Post-baccalaureate program in order to finish her pre-medical requirements before applying to Medical School in the year of 2015.

Jamil Hopkins, from Cary, North Carolina, is a senior biology major at Winston Salem State University with an anticipated graduation date of May 2013. As an UNTRAC (Undergraduate Neuroscience Training Cooperative) scholar, he is also obtaining a minor in Neuroscience from Wake Forest University. Upon graduating, Jamil will be seeking a master’s degree in psychology, with an overall goal of obtaining a terminal degree at the PhD or MD level. He is interested in the biological aspect of psychology, in particular, the underlying mechanisms of mental illnesses. As a student intern and health equity ambassador at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Jamil is thrilled to learn as much as possible under Dr. Mount, and hopes to use the experience throughout his academic and professional careers. In his own words: “Simply put, I’m blessed to be in a position to learn under the mentorship of Dr. Mount.”

My name is Hyunseung “David” Lee. I’m currently a freshman at Wake Forest University. I came here all the way from Ames, Iowa. My family moved to the U.S. from South Korea in 1998. I like performing and listening to music. I am involved with the Clarinet Choir and Mock Trial Team at Wake Forest University. Other than studying and extracurricular, in my spare time, I like trying to learn how to play the guitar, origami, and hanging out with my friends. I’m planning on studying Pre-medical here at Wake Forest, in order to become a doctor but I’m not sure what specialization within medicine I’ll take.

Alexis McClellan is a senior Biology major at Salem College. Two of her greatest accomplishments during her college career have been becoming EMT-Basic certified in the state of North Carolina and becoming a member of the Tri Beta Biological Honor Society. Her future goal is to become a physician and potentially specialize in endocrinology, rheumatology, or epidemiology. Alexis intends on using her knowledge from specializing in one of the three areas mentioned before, to work on community initiatives that educate the public on preventative health care and treatment options for patients in low socioeconomic communities. She hopes as a physician she will be able to do research, treat patients and teach patients about their health using the most up to date research and techniques.

Aline Souza is a senior at Wake Forest University majoring in Health and Exercise Science and double-minoring in Spanish and Chemistry. Originally from Norwalk, CT, Aline is currently the president of the WFU Allied Health Student Associates. She is also an enthusiastic leader and co-chair of Hit the Brick for Brian Piccolo, which raises money for the Brian Piccolo Cancer Fund. Furthermore, Aline is an Ambassador in Admissions, a member of the Club Field Hockey team, a President’s Aide, an active member of Kappa Beta Gamma Sorority, and an interpreter at the Community Care Center. Upon graduation, Aline hopes to spend a gap year doing clinical research and then purse a dual degree with a Master’s in Physician Assistant Studies and a Master’s in Public Health. As a new intern at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, Aline hopes to directly influence the Winston Salem community through research and outreach programs, further her knowledge of data analysis, and learn more about health disparities.

Micha Myers, a native of New Bern, North Carolina, is a senior Psychology and Healthcare Management double major at Winston Salem State University. She is a scholar with the MARC U*STAR program, the class secretary for the Healthcare Management Professional Club, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and Psi Chi. Upon graduation in May 2013, Micha desires to enter a Post-baccalaureate Research Experience (PREP) Program before entering a PhD program in Clinical Psychology. Currently, she honored to be engaged in research with Dr. David Mount at the Maya Angelou Center for Health Equity, where she is gaining experience in health-based research, which she intends on continuing throughout her academic career. She desires to explore health disparities and psychopharmacology, and ultimately establish a Total Wellness Center that will provide multiple medical specialties to patients all under one roof.

Ashley Jackson is a senior attending North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Her interests include public health research, biomath, biological modeling, MATLAB, bioinformatics and, simply, research in general. As an iBLEND student working under, and in collaboration with, Dr. Gregory Goins, an associate professor at NCATSU since 2009, Ashley has been developing biological modeling skills in order to advance her knowledge outside of textbook biology. It is her opinion that “biology and mathematics (along with other disciplines) rely upon each other to solve the biggest and most complex problems of our time.” With that in mind, Ashley has developed an interest in not only performing the experiments in a lab, but also possessing the ability to analyze the data that she gathers. In the summer of 2010, she participated in an internship at the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis (NIMBioS) at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. During this time, Ashley worked very closely with Drs. Steven Wise and Sharon Bewick and two mathematics colleagues Ngoc Thai (Truman State Univ.) and John Collins (UT-Knoxville). Their specific project involved the effects of climate change on ant foraging. They developed a model that showed how ant foraging and discovery may be influenced by the recent threats of dramatic climate change. With that being said, the take-home message is this: Ants are an indicator species that can be highly representative of the long term, major effects of climatic change. That’s why they’re important. She was really excited to be able to work together with people who are specifically trained in modeling and to be able to learn more about MATLAB and other programming languages. Ashley is now a Lab Assistant at Solstas Lab Partners in Greensboro, NC. She hopes that this will help further her career and hands-on experience in biology and public health.

My name is Da’Lauren Mouzon-Smith, I am a Winston-Salem State University sophomore psychology major from various parts of the United States. As a military brat it is nearly impossible for me to claim any one place as home, yet trotting around the United States has opened my eyes up to many different people from very different walks of life. People and the welfare of them in numerous ways pertaining to the health of the brain are the inspiration for my aspirations. My major areas of interests include cognitive psychology, clinical neuropsychology, and neuropharmacology; it is my aspiration to obtain a Ph.D. and specialization in one of the three areas.