Catherine Qiu

UConn School of Medicine

I was born in Manhattan, New York and raised in Trumbull, Connecticut and Shanghai, China. I graduated from the University of Connecticut in 2021 with bachelor’s degrees in molecular & cell biology, mathematics/statistics, and sociology.

Throughout high school, I volunteered at Yale New Haven Hospital. I also volunteered with School on Wheels to tutor children living in homeless shelters across southern Connecticut. At UConn, I served as a mentor and leader for Kids and UConn Bridging Education, where we taught literacy and social development skills to middle school students from Killingly and Willimantic. I also served as a research assistant and student chief of the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program at CT Children’s in Hartford, Connecticut. Finally, I worked for Student Health and Wellness to run a student body wellness initiative across UConn campuses, and as a facilitator for the College Corps CT Summer Program mentoring students whose educations were impacted by the pandemic.

I wanted to be involved with the Urban Service Track/AHEC Scholars (UST/AS) Program to develop the skills necessary to understand and support disadvantaged communities and individuals. I hope to build a holistic perspective on health through working on an interdisciplinary healthcare team with other students and professionals. This experience will inform my future endeavors in medicine, so that I can continue providing adequate health care and access to underserved patients in my practice.