Serving the hispanic community, by bridging communication barriers and expanding my

knowledge on the importance of public health measures such as preventative medicine and re-
search of epidemiological studies that affect the Latino community, is how I intend to use my
public health degree. I was always taught the importance of communication due to the fact that I
was born into a family who immigrated to the United States in the late sixties and whose first
language was not english. My grandfather struggled to learn English, even after being here for
over forty years. His struggle showed me the need for bilingual health educators in the latino
communities of the United States. My grandfather was a man who many would consider sickly,
after he reached a certain age. He had suffered from a heart attack, a stroke, defeated prostate
cancer, and ultimately died from adenocarcinoma, which is a form of glandular cancer, this year.
His battle with his health made me realize the lack of bilingual education for the Latino commu-
nity when it came to managing his health. My family and myself often had to translate for him
and even then, he still found difficulty understanding his issues with his health. It made me won-
der if things wouldve been different had there been more education given to the Latino commu-
nity about prevention and had there been of ways to prevent certain issues he suffered from,
would it have prolonged his life. My family was not made aware of ways to prevent chronic dis-
eases until my grandfather got sick and many Latino families, that were friends of ours, were
equally unaware on the importance of preventative measures and the effect it can have on their
long term health.
I knew being raised bilingual would always be an advantage for me but I didnt realize,
until I started working in healthcare, that it could also make a difference in a whole community if
I educated myself so that I could educate others. My grandfather was my hero, so his initial can-
cer diagnosis is what made me decide to go into healthcare, so that I could understand and help
him understand what he was going through. I have always been interested in research and help-
ing others and that was when public health was brought to my attention and helped me recognize
that majoring in the field could allow me to do both. Developing prevention programs and shar-
ing their importance with the Latino community, is one way I plan on making a difference in
public health.Considering that Florida has a large Latino community, I believe that I will give
companies an opportunity to expand their demographics and target their prevention programs
towards a broader audience. It goes back to the saying that knowledge is power and bridging
the language and cultural gap will be a benefit for the overall population long term.
Receiving my bachelors in public health is the first step in helping my community, I plan
on volunteering with The Way free clinic as a translator throughout my remaining time as an
undergrad as well. I am also looking into volunteer opportunities overseas through Habitat for
Humanity this summer in Honduras to further expand my knowledge of the culture. I will attend
graduate school and receive my masters in public health after finishing my bachelors. My ulti-
mate goal is to work with the Center for Disease Control, once I am done with school. This will
be beneficial to my field because I will work on bridging cultural barriers within the Latino
community in the United States through educating on the importance of preventative measures
and reducing risks for chronic diseases. My work will also allow me to recognize other health
disparities within the Latino community. Being a Latina, I am able to apply common beliefs I
share with my culture to the behavioral theories and I believe this will be an advantage for my-
self, my employer and the community I aim to serve.