Tess McConnell

UConn School of Medicine

I am from Cheshire, CT, where I graduated from Cheshire High School. I then obtained a Bachelor of Science from the University of Pittsburgh with majors in Neuroscience and Psychology and minors in Chemistry and Hispanic Language & Culture.

My volunteer experience includes volunteering at COVID-19 clinics through both Chesprocott Health District and Fair Haven Community Health. At these clinics, I translated for Spanish-speaking patients, aided vaccinators, and improved the flow of the clinics. I also was Co-President of the club Challah for Hunger at my university. In this club, we made and sold loaves of challah. 100% of sales went towards organizations fighting food insecurity; last year we raised over $3700. Additionally, I have worked in Connecticut group homes serving residents with intellectual disabilities. I have also had clinical experiences in Chile and Israel.

I hope UST/AS will give me the education and experiences to better understand and address the healthcare needs of underserved populations. As a physician, I want to make my care as accessible and affordable as possible and I hope this program will give me the tools and knowledge to carry out this goal. I want to work with urban, underserved populations, particularly Spanish-speaking patients who do not have access to care in their native language. I want to be a part of UST/AS to gain experience working with immigrant communities and learn how to best treat patients across language and cultural barriers