Goals and Learning

Career Goals

My career goal shifted from becoming a pediatrician or OB-GYN to pursuing a master's in public health and working in epidemiology or related fields. My experiences, especially after LHSI, showed me the impact of research. Working with a summer camp further clarified my desire to work closely with people and be part of diverse communities. I look forward to contributing to health and research among young Latinos to large-scale change through public health and scientific discovery. Seeing research's real-world impact strengthened my resolve.
During the summer of 2025, I continued lifeguarding and became an LHSI Ambassador, where I learned recruitment skills and led informational workshops. I also interned with Dr. Bigatti, studying bi-cultural resilience in Latinos, and used art and music to support young Latina girls' resilience. Despite personal and financial challenges last year, I stayed committed to my goals. I am proud of my progress and eager to grow in research and public health. I plan to deepen my involvement in my presentation to any community by understanding resources for the Latino community. I aim to be compassionate and empathetic, and to give back as I learn and grow.

LHSI Internship Goals

Learning goal #1: Improve my Communication

At the start of my internship, I planned to work on my communication skills, for my intern role and future opportunities.To achieve this, I intended to:

- Use Microsoft Teams for effective communication to reduce unnecessary office visits.

- Schedule regular check-ins with my supervisor

- Keep my supervisor updated on my hours and communicating any upcoming exams or personal/timesheet issues.

Progress and Growth:

I became comfortable using Microsoft Teams, talking to new people, and taking the initiative to check in with my supervisor. Initially, I struggled with how to phrase my messages and sound professional, but practice and feedback on my tone helped me improve.

Reflections:

This growth has been transformative, pushing me out of my comfort zone and expanding my professional network. I'm now more confident in practicing interviews, engaging with potential employers, and others on the daily for recruitment or my personal day to day.

Next Steps:

I aim to continue to improve my communication and enhancing my presentation skills to effectively share information with different audiences.

Learning Goal #2: Increase Independence

In the fall, I wanted to work on my independence and strengthen my teamwork skills. By building confidence and competence, I thought it would help me in the future with more complex responsibilities and establish a structured daily routine. I also thought it could apply outside of my internship as well. To achieve this goal, I planned to:

- Follow a weekly or daily task checklist and complete tasks independently.

- Complete the Research CITI training independently with little guidance to better understand research practices.

- Take initiative by asking for more tasks upon completion or using the downtime to finish any homework I had for the week.

Progress and Growth:

During my internship, I noticed significant growth in my independence. I handled tasks with increased confidence and rarely needed reassurance from others on the team to double-check my work. The CITI training provided a solid foundation for research procedures, and allowed me to prove my eagerness to learn. Balancing schoolwork during slow periods was initially challenging because I really wanted to focus on my internship when I was there, but I improved in managing my priorities and learned as long as I can balance both it doesn't hurt anyone.

Reflections:

This experience highlighted the value of self-trust and confidence. I used to hesitate and wait for direction, but now I’m more decisive and proactive. This newfound independence motivates me to pursue new job opportunities and be ready to contribute effectively in my college career.

Next Steps:

I look forward to anticipating teammates' needs, and shadowing them to learn beyond my role, and tackling new challenges. I feel much more prepared to take charge and propose solutions, a confidence I lacked at the beginning of this journey!

Learning Goal #3: Be a Reliable Intern:

I aimed to be dependable. Reliability is important to me, and building a reputation for dependability would aid my success. In research, accuracy and consistency are essential. To achieve this, I adopted a mindset that “this internship is a marathon, not a sprint." I really learned to focus on quality work, understanding it, and asking questions for clarity.

Progress and Growth:

I’ve made strides in becoming reliable! I never missed deadlines, kept my timesheet updated, and reached out proactively. Following through and responding to feedback built trust with my supervisor. I realized that being reliable isn’t about doing everything but about committing to my promises with care, accuracy, and consistency.

Reflections:

This goal has shaped my view of work, whether lifeguarding or future jobs. Dependability isn’t just task completion; it’s about trust. I enjoy being reliable, and it boosts my confidence in job applications, networking, and teamwork.

Next Steps:

I want to build on this by taking on more responsibilities and projects where others depend on me. I plan to ask for feedback to exceed expectations and challenge myself to go beyond requirements, staying strategic and sustainable without overextending.

Learning

At the start of my internship in the fall of 2024, my goals were to boost my confidence, gain research experience, and everything else I learned was free game. Now that my experience is done with, I can say I enjoyed my internship and learned so much and grew both professionally and personally. I am proud of the work I accomplished and the connections I made and here are some of the main skills I worked on at my time at Riley:

Communication:

I had to consistently use professional language in my communications. I became more confident in sharing updates and questions, which improved my Microsoft teams messaging and email drafting skills through collaboration with my supervisor and others on the team.

Teamwork:

I connected my coursework to hands-on experiences, understanding the importance of participant consent and sensitive communication.

Problem-Solving:

I grew more confident in scheduling and data collection issues on excel.

Skills to Develop:

I aimed to become more independent and took the initiative to seek additional responsibilities. I also learned to trust my judgment, I knew what I was doing and would ask less and less "I'm on the right track, right?" I welcomed constructive feedback, taking notes during check-ins and reflecting each week, which turned feedback into growth opportunities rather than taking it personally.