Interning with Kids Tooth Team Outreach allowed Ethics & Leadership in Health Care BDP student Alyssa Nunn to gain experience in non-profit healthcare.
"My participation in this Connecting Experience has helped to reinforce my passion for achieving a more equitable healthcare system."
Where did you intern?
I interned with the Kids Tooth Team Outreach, a non-profit organization that provides free dental care to children in underserved communities in Central Texas through their mobile clinic as a dental home.
How did you find this internship?
I found this internship through the BDP Opportunities Blog.
What kind of work did you do as an intern?
My work with Kids Tooth Team Outreach consisted of non-profit management, marketing, and grant writing. I also helped plan fundraising events and run social media during site visits.
What was the most rewarding aspect of your Connecting Experience?
The most rewarding part of this Connecting Experience was knowing that the work I accomplished directly impacted the health of Central Texas children. Every so often throughout the internship, I got to travel to “site visits” and interact with the kids being treated at the mobile clinic. It was very rewarding to see the product of the work that I had put in behind the scenes.
In what ways has this Connecting Experience shaped your plans for the future?
My participation in this Connecting Experience has helped to reinforce my passion for achieving a more equitable healthcare system. This is an issue that I grew interested in through my UT Austin coursework. With the real-life experience and exposure gained through this Connecting Experience, I now am certain that this is something I want to pursue.
Discuss the relationship that you had with your faculty mentor, and how they helped you during this Connecting Experience.
I chose my faculty mentor, Dr. John Hoberman, because I had taken his course, BDP 329: Race and Medicine in American Life, in a previous semester. I enjoyed his class and felt that it aligned with my work through Kids Tooth Team Outreach. Throughout my Connecting Experience, Dr. Hoberman was able to support me with his guidance and expertise on race-based medicine. We were able to have meaningful conversations, allowing me to grasp a deeper understanding of the ways I could impact children.