Molly Potter

UConn School of Medicine, Class of 2021

I was born and raised in Southington, Connecticut. I attended the University of Connecticut in Storrs for my undergraduate degrees, where I earned a B.S. in Physiology and Neurobiology and one in Psychology.

As an undergraduate at UConn, I went on several alternative spring break trips focused on community service. My first trip focused on public health issues in Baltimore, where I and my fellow students worked with several local programs including food banks, an urban garden, a homeless shelter and a needle exchange program. My second trip also focused on public health issues, this time in Atlanta. There, we worked with the Salvation Army, the Boys and Girls Club of Atlanta, and Atlanta Mission. Through the UConn Global Brigades Program, I have also participated in trips to Nicaragua, Panama and Ghana. This program sends students to underdeveloped countries to set up clinics in isolated rural areas and to provide community members with access to primary care consultations from doctors and dentists, free medication, and public health classes. During my school breaks, I work as a Certified Nurse’s Aid at the Alzheimer’s Resource Center of Connecticut, where I assist residents suffering from advanced stages of dementia with their activities and daily living.

While I have worked and volunteered with underserved populations all over the world, I have not had the opportunity to work with any in Connecticut. Through the Urban Service Track, I wish to learn more about the challenges facing underserved populations in Connecticut, and to engage with community members to learn from them what they feel their greatest obstacles to quality healthcare are. Through such involvement, I hope to learn how I, as a future physician, can best serve them.