The 2023 Minorities in Health Conference was held on the 16th of April this year. Since 2009, this annual student-led event holds the primary purpose of educating students about health disparities that impact our communities and finding ways to decrease these disparities by encouraging and inspiring primarily high school and undergraduate students to strive toward higher education and, ultimately, careers in health. Organized by the Minorities in Health (MIH) Planning Committee, this was the first fully in-person conference since 2019. The MIH Conference Planning Committee is comprised of five student organizations: CHE (Comunidad for Health Equity), PAHC (Pilipinx Association of Health Careers), BSHA (Black Students in Health Association), AAPIHRG (Asian American Pacific Islander Health Research Group), and Cal UPHC (Undergraduate Public Health Coalition). Our organizations have recognized that students from minority populations have had and still continue to have barriers systematically placed on them preventing equitable ascension toward the fields of medicine and other health sciences. Therefore, our mission is to further empower pre-health students of color by connecting them to health professionals who have broken barriers in healthcare as minorities and learning from their unique experiences. Through these interactions between students and respective professionals, we hope to address and combat the existing barriers in healthcare to promote increased diversity in spaces that have been restricted to minorities in the past.
Each year, the conference is built around a unique theme that the MIH Conference Planning Committee believes best fits that year. Last year’s theme “Grow Through What You Go Through” emphasized resilience as we continued to navigate the world under COVID-19 circumstances. The 2023 Minorities in Health Conference theme was “Lighting the Torch: Igniting your Passion, Being a Trailblazer, and Tending your Flame.” This theme was brought to us by our CHE MIH representative, Samantha Duran. We wanted to build our conference around reminding students that alongside resilience, as students from minority backgrounds, they can spark big change within their communities.
Our conference was broken down into three sessions of workshops that respectively focus on the pathways to different health professions, educational workshops, graduate medical school preparation, and professional development. We had the honor of hosting the following workshops presented by these accomplished speakers:
- Opening Keynote Speaker - Dr. Connie Mariano, MD, FACP: Former White House Physician to President George W. Bush and President Bill Clinton
- Igniting your Passion:
- Boulevard to Biotech - Danielle Carino
- Introduction to Clinical Research - Brianna Roque
- Road to Physical Therapy - Dr. Carolyn Guerrera, DPT
- Being a Trailblazer:
- LEAP into Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health - Tina Lu, MSW and Soniya Manju
- Coalition of Concerned Medical Professionals
- Keep’ it Litty: Healthcare Leadership in the Bay Area - Danielle Miguel
- Tending your Flame:
- Finding your Fit - Princeton Review: Erik Ruiz
- Pre-Health Interviews - UC Berkeley Career Center: Irma Laura Moreno, JD
- Applying for Medical School - UCSF Student National Medical Association
- Closing Keynote Speaker - Dr. Jyothi Marbin, MD: UC Berkeley and UCSF Joint Medical Program Director
2023 MIH Conference attendees self-reported as first-generation, low-income, the first in their family to go into healthcare, LGBTQIA+, from a rural/medically underserved area, or identify as an underrepresented community in health. We are honored to have been able to hold a space for such a diverse group of future health professionals.
As part of the “Being a Trailblazer” workshops, Soniya Manju (Center of Excellence in MCAH trainee, expected MPH ’24) and Tina Lu (Program Manager, MCAH) hosted a workshop that introduced high school students and college students to the field of Maternal, Child and Adolescent Health. Workshop participants learned about the history of maternal and child health, the impact of Title V, and future career opportunities. Participants also engaged in MCH Leadership Competencies and left the workshop with leadership development resources.
(Left) Dr. Connie Mariano, MD (Former White House Physician) presenting the opening keynote speech. (Right) Attendees listening to the opening keynote at the 2023 Minorities in Health Conference on April 16, 2023.
My name is Melissa Cabana, and I am a part of the 2023 Minorities in Health Planning Committee as the Pilipino Association for Health Careers (PAHC) Minorities in Health Coordinator. I was introduced to the Minorities in Health Conference in its virtual format as a first year in 2020, and it was such a memorable experience listening to Dr. Mariano’s opening speech. From that point on, I was drawn to the opportunities that the MIH Conference has to offer and the mission it serves. I then had the incredible opportunity of interning for the 2021-2022 MIH Conference Planning Committee before serving as my current role this year. From bringing back Dr. Mariano to interact with our students in-person to an increase in high school students' attendance, I can now look back at this past year and the 2023 Minorities in Health Conference as a success. I came into this year envisioning our events full of students from various backgrounds learning from an amazing lineup of accomplished professionals that have broken through barriers. It has been the most rewarding experience to see how these professionals continue to inspire our students.
The annual Minorities in Health Conference will return in April of 2024! In addition, the MIH Conference Planning Committee will host two speaker panel events, one each semester, which will include health professionals and students from minority backgrounds. We are always looking for speakers for all our events and organizations to table during our conference, so please contact us at minoritiesinhealth@gmail.com if you or anyone you know are interested! And if you are interested in being a volunteer for next year’s conference, look at our Instagram (@minoritiesinhealth) for updates closer to the event! Students that are a part of our partner organizations can reach out to their respective boards for information on how to intern for the committee. Please don’t hesitate to email us with any questions regarding our events or if you would like to know more about us!
Melissa Cabana graduated with her B.A. in Public Health in May 2023 and served as the Minorities in Health Coordinator for the Pilipino Association for Health Careers (PAHC) at UC Berkeley for the 2022-23 academic year.