Antea DeMarsilis

UConn School of Medicine, Class of 2020

I grew up in North Haven, CT before moving to St. Louis, MO to complete my undergraduate degree in Anthropology with a concentration in Global Health and Environment at Washington University in St. Louis.

In St. Louis, I worked with groups addressing inequity in the city’s food system through nutrition education and affordable food preparation programs. These groups included a student group partnered with local community gardens to increase capacity, community engagement, and produce access, and a neighborhood restoration farmer’s market. I also led a local engagement initiative with a global health equity student group. I later moved to Boston and worked in Leadership Development at Primary Care Progress, an organization teaching grassroots organizing and relationship leadership skills to interprofessional primary care students. I then served with Community HealthCorps at the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program’s primary care clinic at the Pine Street Inn as a case manager and health educator.

I applied to the Urban Service Track to gain experience in and an understanding of how health care providers can empower and advocate with marginalized communities to eliminate systemic barriers to health. I believe that interprofessional teams are the most effective form of health care, and with the Urban Service Track, I hope to study interprofessional medical practice to better understand the perspectives and strengths of my future clinical teammates. Last, I hope to find a support system of peers and mentors who are a bridge between learning in the classroom and in the community.