Alex Goodell ’10: Guatemala
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Alex Goodell ’10 |
Study abroad experience: I spent five weeks in Antigua and Guatemala City, studying Spanish and working as a volunteer research assistant for a group of medical researchers. They were students from Albert Einstein College of Medicine (in the Bronx) studying HIV/AIDS in pregnant women. We had a database of 7,000 patients, and some of the data was inaccurate so we had to cross check it with information in paper files. We compiled the data, and I wrote the first draft and the “Methods” section of an abstract, which we presented at the 17th Annual Global Health Education Consortium in Sacramento. I was also included in the clinical rotations with these students, so I got to shadow a pediatrician, infectious disease doctors, and HIV specialists. We [went out with] awareness organizations and helped with education for sex workers in brothels and on La Linea, a famous sex-worker strip in downtown Guatemala City.
Expanding my life: Back in high school, I wrote an extended essay on UNAIDS and why it has failed in Africa. I love writing papers, the research, digging into something so deeply that you really begin to understand the topic. I wasn’t quite sure how to tie that in with my love of other subjects like biology, debate, politics, and social science. But in Guatemala, I discovered that all of those things come together in the topic of public health. I made connections with Dr. Eduardo Arrathoon who runs the Luis Angel Garcia family clinic in Guatemala City. He runs an NGO [non-government organization] and he’s suing the Guatemalan government because they won’t pay for HIV meds; he’s a doctor so he sees patients. He’s a biologist so he’s involved with research. He’s working on these gigantic public health campaigns so he’s into public relations, which I also really enjoy. He’s just got the most interdisciplinary job that I’ve ever seen.
Earning academic credit: I was supervised by the doctor who was directing the medical students, and I did get academic credit for my work on the research project.
Career goals: I’m most interested in getting my MD, then working in public health, maybe at the CDC in Georgia, or as a county public health administrator, and working in public health research on an international level.
Advice to students who want to study abroad: Even if money is an issue, anyone can afford to do a trip like this. Search the Internet for cheap deals, look around for your own connections. It’s surprising how often people will offer to let you see the workings of their facilities, and there are tons of places that love to have volunteers. There are opportunities even for students with few skills. You can learn so much by living with a host family and being a part of their culture and their world. Definitely, everyone should study abroad. Just be confident, be flexible, and go!