Meet Our Alameda Health Consortium Summer Intern

Contributed by David Lee, Development & Communications Summer Intern, Alameda Health Consortium

After graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in Public Health I always imagined myself working in the public sector- specifically for nonprofits. I come from an underserved community in Monterey County and have always been interested in minority health and brainstorming solutions on how the U.S. can repair health inequities and disparities permeating in predominantly marginalized communities. After my summer internship at the Alameda Health Consortium (AHC), I feel that my understanding of the integral role that Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) play in community health has increased significantly and my passion for working in public health has only been strengthened.

Working at AHC during the pandemic has been an extreme privilege; forming great friendships with peers and department leads has been an extraordinary experience. The atmosphere at AHC has been great; everyone I’ve connected with has gone above and beyond to help me with any questions I may have. In addition, AHC has exposed me to a plethora of smart and innovative public health leaders in the Bay Area. Being able to attend meetings and interviews with our FQHC CEO’s and county officials has cultivated a better understanding of what it takes to support our amazing communities in the East Bay. During my internship, I had the great opportunity to personally interview one of our health center leaders for our National Health Center Week series of digital shorts. This experience of

speaking with Mychi Nguyen, Chief Medical Officer, Asian Health Services allowed me to gain useful interviewing skills. It was an extremely humbling and enlightening experience. Additionally, being able to physically be inside our community health centers during the pandemic was an eye-opening experience- seeing COVID-19 protocols and our health center’s commitment to quality and culturally comprehensive care was incredible.

Overall, my internship at AHC has exposed me to the multifaceted field that is public health. Working at AHC has been an extreme privilege and opportunity that has really helped drive my public health career forward. I am extremely thankful for my time here at AHC and the great leaders and mentors that have had such an instrumental impact on my career.