Hello everyone !
My name is Melissa Concepcion, and I am a freshman at NYU studying psychology on the pre-med track. This summer, I hope to take part in an American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS) multi-country program called "Comparative Healthcare Systems." The program focuses on the health care systems of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and the United States. I'm a hands-on learner, and the program's approach is exciting to me: classroom teaching is balanced with site visits to hospitals, medical centers, and historical centers. I’m eager to learn about the interplay between healthcare systems and the societies they serve, and in particular how these varying systems handled the Covid-19 epidemic differently. This program's multi-country approach will provide a unique opportunity to do that.
Personally, I have dreamed of visiting these destinations–London, Barcelona, and Florence–since I was a child. I am a first-generation American and the first in my family to attend college. My parents both work full-time (my father as a cook, my mother as a school bus matron). They earn enough to create a stable home: to pay our rent and put food on the table. I am proud to have received a full-tuition scholarship to attend New York University and I'm working hard and learning a great amount here. But my financial aid package does not cover summer programs, so I am doing what I can to save money. Without additional help, though, I just won't have enough to attend the AIFS program.
If you are able, it would mean so much to me if you could contribute to my fund before the payment deadline on April 1st.
I believe that with the assistance of friends like yourself, I will be able to achieve this goal and those to which it will lead me. I am grateful for all the ways that individuals have helped students like myself, both financially and emotionally, to participate in activities that broaden horizons and expose us to new opportunities.
More About Me
I am a future physician. The AIFS program will provide me with critical insights into the challenges that face every nation's healthcare system — and the varied solutions different nations employ. My career path has been shaped by both the social and scientific aspects of medicine. I became interested in neuroscience at the age of 13, after seeing my grandmother's mental decline due to Alzheimer's. I was frustrated that I couldn’t help her—that no one could help her—as she struggled to remember names and carry out everyday activities. I've resolved to devote my life to learning about the brain's systems and how we can support good health throughout life.
Finally, studying abroad will be much more than just classroom work and sightseeing for me. I am eager to explore my identity, embrace discomfort, broaden my horizons, spark my growth, cultivate my cultural competence, and meet new people who share—or do not share!--my interests. A personal passion of mine is photography. Photography has played a significant role in my life: it was a coping method for me, in middle school, and today it still provides solace as a therapeutic outlet. I look forward to exploring these new locations, and myself, through photography. My camera will capture London's historical wonders, Barcelona's Sant Pau hospital, and the legendary and eclectic Specola of Florence. I want to photograph the culture, architecture, and people of these cities in order to thoroughly immerse myself in and connect to them in a meaningful way.