Shivani Patel

UConn School of Medicine

I was born in Livingston, NJ, and raised in Danbury, CT. I am a first-generation student who graduated from Marist College (now Marist University) with a B.S. in biomedical sciences.

During college, I was an Upward Bound academic mentor for first-generation students at Poughkeepsie High School, led collegiate fundraising efforts for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and served as a hospice and palliative care volunteer. My interests in healthcare and mentorship led me to intern at the Catskill Hudson Area Health Education Center, where I helped update and digitize a pre-health education exploration program for students in Dutchess County.

After college, I was awarded a Fulbright-Nehru research grant in Kerala, India, where I studied the role of youth volunteerism in Kerala’s community-based model of palliative care. I connected with patients from vastly different backgrounds and lived experiences, and I observed how physicians facilitate community-based care by emphasizing that community health is a shared responsibility.

I sought involvement in UST/AS to build upon my clinical, advocacy, and research experiences to become a physician who addresses the structural barriers that impact health in addition to clinical practice. Through UST/AS, I will deepen my understanding of social determinants of health, and demonstrate through advocacy, comprehensive care, and compassion, that health care should be shaped by the voices of those it serves.