Alyssa Santos

UConn School of Pharmacy

I was born in Manila, Philippines and moved to Connecticut with my family at the age of seven. We then recently moved to Texas. During school breaks, I work as a pharmacy intern at CVS in a residential neighborhood of Houston. I enjoy working in this diverse location where the majority of people only speak Spanish or Vietnamese. My experience has shown me the importance of health literacy and how it’s challenged by cultural differences and language barriers.

I attended an Alternative Break with a focus on homelessness in Boston and worked with English-learning second graders through America Reads. Last year, I also studied abroad in Ecuador with Social Entrepreneur Corps. While living with host families, we provided support to local organizations, team building workshops to a middle school, and clean water alternatives to families. One of my favorite projects was a vision campaign that provided free eye examinations and affordable reading glasses to a rural community. I saw that without proactive outreach events like these, certain populations would not obtain the healthcare that others can easily access.

I applied to UST because it educates and supports communities with predisposing factors that are outside of their control. I will be learning from my peers in other disciplines and preparing myself for future inter-professional collaborations that are critical to an individual’s health as a whole. I am excited to work with my open-minded colleagues and eager community members to overcome the barriers to healthcare.