Why did you join SHEA?

Karen: I was originally working with a group of students who took Carolyn Roberts’ “Sickness and Health in African American History” class and we had started an alumni group primarily focused on reforming the medical admissions process and requiring that applicants demonstrate cultural competency for issues of racial and social justice. In the summer, we got word that many other students were also doing similar work at the undergraduate level trying to reform STEM fields. Collectively, we thought it would be great to have all of our minds together and to work alongside each other and to initiate more change with more people. I was really excited to be a part of this initial group that started SHEA, we’ve done great work so far and I’m excited to work with SHEA even after graduation. 

Ikenna: Summer of 2020, I experienced a lot of frustration and pain. Witnessing the state of America, racial injustice, and how this played out in the space of medicine and STEM, I felt very strongly about change, especially as someone who is interested in STEM, healthcare, and how the medical system takes part in harming people like and unlike me. There was a group of students who felt similarly and banded together to write an open letter to current and aspiring medical professionals. It explained how STEM and healthcare are not actually objective and how racism has impacted and built the healthcare system we have today. That was a powerful and meaningful first step towards affecting change. I really feel bad for people who have dealt with this and have died because of it. I don’t want my contemporaries or those who have yet to come to have to deal with this. I felt a drive to do as much as I could to try to change thinking frames and systems in place. So when SHEA became an organization dedicated to doing this, I knew that this is where I felt very strongly pulled to go. 

What are you most proud of in SHEA thus far and where do you see SHEA going from here?

Karen: I’m extremely proud of all of the work that we’ve been doing as a collective. Part of coming together as a collective was to maintain that sense of everyone being able to drive projects that they are passionate about, like creating petitions for YSM admissions and education…like expanding the HSHM department so STEM students can take courses on race and class and their effects on medicine…like creating workshops to educate within and beyond the Yale community. We’ve been able to accomplish an incredible amount this semester. Both current and future students are now required to understand the different societal forces that influence science because we were able to change the MB&B major’s requirements. We’re not just affecting change for current students and the Yale population, but really for generations to come.

I want to see further interaction between groups and to create meaningful interactions and experiences in this work. I’ve developed a lot of friendships in SHEA with people who are equally as passionate about changing the culture of STEM and medicine at the undergraduate and graduate level. Moving forward, we’re continuing to brainstorm how we can be more effective at leveraging changes to existing institutions, which has been difficult, but we have exciting collaborations and initiatives in the works to do just that. We want to create a space for students, professors, and healthcare professionals to reflect on and discuss how we can better STEM, academic, and medical communities to begin to chip away at the racial disparities in these fields. 

Ikenna: I feel there’s not a moment in SHEA history that I’m not proud of. For such an important mission and vision, I think it’s amazing that we came together in the first place and that people have stayed engaged. This is a form of activism and it’s easy for people to burn out or for organizations to fizzle away. The life behind the movement is the people that make it up and the energy and intentionality that they bring. The energy and care is there. We have the resilience and the drive to start a movement that lasts as long as it needs to last. 

As an MB&B major, the act of changing the MB&B major is huge for me. People are recognizing that it’s not just the content that matters, but the context. How does what we learn apply to when we deal with people? This change is an exclamation that people are important and that we care about how we can best respect and support others. I’m also really proud of the workshop committee and that our most recent workshop was led by students who were not initially involved in SHEA. This reflects our initial philosophy: anyone can step up and do what needs to be done. It feels like we are maturing, but not crystalizing. Maturing in a way that allows us to be flexible and adapt in whatever ways we need to in the future. 

One of my big hopes for SHEA is expansion. I envision SHEA being a spearhead for an equity movement and showing people that this work is not futile. Personally, I would watch events like Ferguson and George Floyd’s death happen and feel somewhat apathetic because fighting for respect and equity felt futile, nihilistic, and almost like I had to accept a disadvantaged status. I feel like that happens with a lot of social movements. But in the past semester in SHEA, myself and others have learned that the fight for racial equity is not futile, and I hope to see SHEA inspiring others like it inspired me. It’s something worth doing, so, hop on, let’s talk, let’s do it. Let’s learn and teach in ways that feel familial, loving, and safe. Let’s find ways to create a movement that makes a tangible difference.