Jeremy Figueroa-Ortiz

UConn School of Dental Medicine, Class of 2020

Much of my volunteer work focuses on ending health and education disparities in urban underserved communities, ranging from children to the elderly. Some of my relevant work is my involvement as the President of The Rowe Scholars Program designed to provide opportunities to students from underrepresented backgrounds in the health field. Additionally, my work as President of Kids and UCONN Bridging Education, which is a multicultural mentoring program comprised of 200 people that builds literacy, educational aspirations, and social skills development through one-on-one mentoring with elementary and middle school students from underprivileged communities around Connecticut. Along with these ventures, my interest in health disparities and public health brought me to New York where I was apart of the Public Health Scholars Program. In this program I was challenged through Masters level coursework at Columbia University and field work in urban settings, this work was focused around planning and providing meals to the elderly and home-bound in New York’s five boroughs. Similarly, I was an intern at Institute for Community Research where I worked on Project Good Oral Health in a Senior home located in Central Connecticut to address inequities in dentistry and bridge the gap by providing dental screenings and educating participants on oral health free of charge. Other volunteer work that I have been a part of includes a dental mission trip to The Galapagos Island of Isabella, Migrant Farm Worker Clinics, and Connecticut Mission of Mercy.

I sought investment in UST because I feel that service is an imperative part to being a health care provider. Being a part of an underserved community, I understand first hand how important it is to give back and to engage the communities we aspire to serve in a manner that is culturally appropriate and competent. It has become my goal to minimize the amount of negative events that occur because of a lack of cultural awareness in a clinic. I yearn to be a part of a team that has a common goal—working together to eliminate health disparities and improve public health. Even our smallest of actions can have a monumental effect in another person’s life.

I feel my experiences in providing aide to different urban populations through UST will enlighten me by exposing me to other health professions as well as further educate me of the patients’ perspectives. UST will expose me to new backgrounds that will push my current scope of knowledge to new heights. Becoming culturally competent is a life-long process and by being a part of UST, I will be able to engage with my patients in a unique way that will allow this learning to continue and will help create an atmosphere that encourages patient-provider interactions in my own practice while providing exemplary care. Additionally, through this knowledge that I will acquire, in the future I will be better equipped to work with professionals from different disciples and be apart of a team that will solve some of health care’s most perplexing issues.