Anika Makol

UConn School of Medicine

I was born in East Hartford, CT and primarily raised in South Windsor, CT. I pursued my undergraduate career at UConn where I doubled majored in molecular cell biology and human rights, and graduated as an Honors Scholar.

Throughout college, I volunteered at medical clinics that provided free healthcare to migrant farmworkers. There, I witnessed how health education was a liberating force that smoothed out inequalities. As a recipient of the UConn Human Rights Individualized Internship, I spent Summer 2019 in Chandigarh, India working with SANKALP, an organization committed to helping urban underserved communities through education and medical care. By organizing public health lectures for children who could not afford to go to school, I came to understand the importance of building a sustainable and empowering environment for marginalized individuals. In Fall 2019, I continued my efforts to empower underserved communities through education by volunteering at Elena’s Light, an organization based in New Haven, Connecticut; I served as an English as a Second Language (ESL) tutor for refugee women.

The Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars (UST/AS) Program will supplement my medical education with lessons on how to obviate health disparities that impact vulnerable communities. I look forward to collaborating with students and professionals from diverse healthcare disciplines in order to learn an integrated approach to treating my future patients. The UST/AS Program will equip me with a diverse skillset that allows me not only to treat my patient’s health concerns, but also to advocate for their needs, truly providing patient-centered care.