Lena Feleke
2023 YCCI Summer Exposures Intern
I am a junior at Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School in Nashville, Tennessee. I am currently the Tennessee Technology Student Association State Reporter, and I will be taking part in many health and technology-based programs and extracurriculars this year. I am also researching opportunities to strengthen my passion for healthcare, neuroscience, and technology, and I will be carrying out a lab-based research project through The School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt.
About my YCCI Internship
I was happy to take part in the internship, as I believe it gave me opportunities that I would not obtain anywhere else. I was happy to work with bright minds from across the world and to hear from many esteemed professionals working in areas relating to clinical research. The program allowed me to combine my love for healthcare and technology through the development of a project proposal regarding improving MyChart messages relating to research study recruitment. The program also taught me more about the world of clinical research and how interdisciplinary it is. It strengthened my passion for mitigating health disparities through learning of the misrepresentation in research studies and its effect on certain populations.
For Students Considering a YCCI Internship
I feel like this program is very beneficial, and it will open up people’s eyes when it comes to how critical clinical research is for the world we live in today. I have gained the ability to make a positive impact in the field by carrying out an interdisciplinary project that related to my interests of healthcare and technology. There are many other projects available to those who are interested in other fields, and they all also have the ability to make a strong impact on the people that those projects reach. The program has given unique opportunities and has definitely strengthened my passion for healthcare and technology, and it has given me a strong network of bright people that I can always reach out to. I am honestly very grateful for this amazing opportunity.