From the president
Kayla Walker is a second-year Levine Scholar at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte majoring in Public Health and Mathematics. She has integrated research, service and advocacy centered around healthcare equity, serving members of the city’s vulnerable populations, and integrating behavior health services in public health settings. Over the past two years, Kayla has also worked to provide health information and care products to the women and children receiving care at Charlotte’s Salvation Army’s Center of Hope. She is a leader in the university’s student organizations centered on healthcare careers and service, and has explored acute care delivery in Greece.
Personal Statement
According to the CDC, Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. While many factors contribute to this disparity, learning more about the systemic inequalities and social determinants of health minorities face when accessing healthcare is what confirmed my desire to be a physician. I want to make changes to the system and advocate for my patients that come from diverse backgrounds. I have immersed myself in the field of public health to gain background about what systems are in place to improve the health of vulnerable communities. From my courses and extracurricular activities I learned that public health means taking action by implementing changes to support a person’s overall wellness. I saw public health as action during my internship at the Mecklenburg County Health Department. I had the opportunity to partner with multiple teams to see how they created sustainable interventions to improve their respective population’s health concerns. Seeing these interventions inspired me to join a civic engagement project that partners with a local women's homeless shelter to provide personal hygiene supplies and broad health education in hopes of equipping residents with both the tools and knowledge to manage their overall wellness.