Barune ThapaCo-President and FounderSenior, Public Health and Immunology
What's there to know about Barune? When I was a freshman at Cal, I was looking for a global health club to join — but I wasn’t okay with just any club. From my experiences at Dhulikhel Hospital in Nepal, I had learned the importance of giving agency and tools to communities emboldened by their desire to improve their own conditions. I realized how important it was to consider the systematic barriers to health existing in communities throughout the world and understand the culture and political context of the places one works. Needless to say, I did not find this organization. So I made it. And thanks to the work of many incredible Berkeley students who have become my friends and community over the last three years, this ideal organization has become a reality. Although my life, to be honest, really is just GlobeMed, I do some other things too. I’m currently conducting research on air pollution exposure to bus riders in Kathmandu. I also enjoy photography, going backpacking, writing, acting, reading, eating, and other basic things humans tend to enjoy. Since I am graduating soon, I’ve been reflecting a lot on what the future holds in store for me. I’m certainly going to graduate school for public health, which will serve as the foundation for my career, but the path I take to make public health impact could be anything from journalism to medicine to law. Stay tuned to find out, I guess? Favorite GlobeMed memory? I don’t think I have one favorite memory in GlobeMed, but I’ll choose something anyways. It must have been our third or fourth e-board meeting as a club that we realized we needed props for recruitment. So, some of us went shopping to buy a wooden board, some chalkboard paint, and a bunch of chalkboard markers. We painted this board together in a cramped library room, drawing out our signature blue and gold GlobeMed at Berkeley logo and posting the prompt “By 2020 I would like to…” It really wasn’t anything special or profound, but this was the first time I realized, as we laughed and joked together, that we had all become friends. The GlobeMed at Berkeley community, as little as it was at the time, had been born. We were all passionate about this common cause that brought us together then, and has brought a whole lot more of us together since. |
Adele WallrichghU Co-CoordinatorSenior, Conservation and Resource Studies
What's there to know about Adele? Secretly I would love to be a stand-up comedian, but I don't think I could live the life of a performer. I play the piano pretty well and I'm hoping to compose my own music as a hobby but for now I've been pretty lazy about that. I have killed one succulent in my life which was terrible but since then I've learned a lot and become a better plant mom. Favorite GlobeMed memory? Going to Ucha after a meeting once and just hanging out! |
Ameryl LoiCampaigns Co-CoordinatorSenior, Molecular and Cellular Biology, Minor in Asian American and Asian Diaspora Studies
What's there to know about Ameryl? When the opportunity to join GlobeMed at Berkeley fell onto my lap (quite literally), I was amazed to find my desires to pursue work in both health and social justice so perfectly articulated in an organization. I truly believe the work we have achieved in the handful of years we've worked alongside Dhulikhel Hospital has caused sustainable change through our partnership and in ourselves as students. As I pursue a career in medicine, I hope to embrace all that GlobeMed has ingrained in me – empowering underserved communities and fighting institutional hierarchies in the context of public health. Aside from this, I enjoy drinking tea and making tea for others, writing under colorful lights, fingerpicking my guitar, walking empty streets by pretty houses, and taking photos of my friends. Favorite GlobeMed memory? I remember watching intelligent conversation going back and forth in rapid succession during one of our very first ghU's. Everyone was picking at each other's brains (in good fashion), the stakes of entering this debate were incredibly high, and my heart was racing for absolutely no reason. But when I finally caught wind of the conversation and spoke my truth, I felt empowered and grew confident in my own voice within this organization. It was this very moment when I felt I had found my college family filled with passionate and inspiring young students, and I have felt at home ever since. |
Rohini DasanPartnerships CoordinatorJunior, Public Health
What's there to know about Rohini? What inspires me to pursue global health equity is my family. As my family members fled our homeland of Sri Lanka to many nations around the world, growing up in diaspora has exposed to both the positive and negative externalities of health care systems internationally. In the past, I have been a part of global health initiatives in Sri Lanka, and I quickly learned that the merit of the work being done is rendered ineffective if factors such as ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, power dynamics and other determinants of health aren't considered when developing a public health intervention. That’s why when I came to Cal, and came across GlobeMed, the approach of cultural humility, sustainability, and the advancement of health in developing nations through the lens of social justice renewed my faith in being able to make an meaningful impact in a way that empowers the communities we work with. My role as Internal Partnerships Coordinator this year has enhanced my GlobeMed experience immensely. Being responsible for our communication with our partner, Dhulikhel Hospital, has instilled a new sense of agency and passion in me for our work because I am able to hear about the tangible impacts that our efforts have over in Nepal. Favorite GlobeMed memory? I can distinctly remember my very first ghU at the very first GlobeMed at Berkeley meeting ever back in the fall of my freshman year. We discussed how the concept of global health was inherently based in colonialism/imperialistic pursuits. That discussion opened my eyes in how we need to be cognizant about the ways people have been exploited by westerners in the realm of health and medicine in the past, and how we must actively aim to avoid making the same mistakes when it comes to our partnership with Dhulikhel Hospital. So much of what I have come across in a GlobeMed acts as a supplement to my public health education here at Berkeley, making my time here as a student far the more richer and intellectually stimulating. |
Oscar RamosGROW CoordinatorFreshman, Public Health
What's there to know about Oscar? Hello! My name is Oscar and I am passionate about addressing health disparities and enhancing the health of communities. I aspire to obtain an MPH and eventually work in global health. I joined GlobeMed because I desired to be a part of an organization that empowers communities and facilitates a platform so they may vocalize their issues and needs. Outside of GlobeMed at Berkeley I am a Chicanxs/Latinxs in Health Education Public Relations intern, Equipment and Practice Team Manager for the Cal Women's Volleyball team, and a proud member of Cal Rotaract, Best Buddies, and the Undergraduate Public Health Coalition. On my free time I enjoy playing volleyball, traveling, taking photos, and spending time with my friends. Go Bears! Favorite GlobeMed memory? One of my favorite memories in GlobedMed (so far) is going to Summit in Chicago. I learned so much about global health and about myself. It definitely strengthened my perception of health and what it means to be a part of the work. I also really enjoyed bonding with Jenn and Barune on the trip! Overall, it was an amazing experience and I really hope other people from our chapter can attend in the future! |
Melissa ZhangCampaigns Co-CoordinatorSophomore, Molecular and Cellular Biology
What's there to know about Melissa? As an incoming “pre-med” student freshmen year, I was very much disillusioned by the glittery image of charity work and humanitarianism. Despite wanting to help others, much of my altruistic desires came from a place of selfish glorification and affirming systems that were colonial in nature. GlobeMed provided a stark contrast to my ideals and the missions-based orgs on campus that I had been looking into as it was sensitive to bring sustainable change without the pervasiveness of volunteerism. GlobeMed has helped me grow incredibly not only in understanding power-dynamics and intersectionality within public health, but in being able to personally be self-critical and uncomfortable. I love listening to the open-dialogue GlobeMed allows for in our ghU’s, but I am a total stan over the people themselves that I’ve met through this club. Besides GlobeMed, I enjoy pestering my Campaigns Counterpart, pushing the boundaries of microwaveable cuisine, drawing strangers, and climbing trees. I can also clap with one hand. Favorite GlobeMed memory? I have two! I really enjoyed meeting Brittany and ShengXiao from GlobeMed HQ and having them sit in with us during one of our general meetings. We Skype called our partner and had a fruitful conversation about the concept of culture. One of my most treasured memories, though, is when Barune, Ameryl, Naseeha and I were trapped in a car behind a septic pumper (poop) truck for half an hour. It was the most instant community building experience I’ve ever had. |