Ya’at’eeh (Greetings). My name is RueShunda Jim, I am a rising junior here at the University of Arizona majoring in Public Health and with a minor in Professional Technical Writing. I come from the Navajo Nation where I am devoted to receive my education to improve the lack of resources on the reservation for future generations to come. This past summer I was able to participate in the UBRP summer program under EHS-RISE to get started with my research experience, and now it has almost been a year since I’ve been in Dr. Hoover’s Lab where I used my aspects of health literacy and intertwined it towards the concepts of interpreting data results from a previous lab project conducted. I created a form on science communication using infographics based on previous research on the chemical exposure from waste and landfill burning in an indigenous community that revealed the chemical group Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs). Using infographics helped present the external sources, transportation, major routes of exposure towards the human body, and possible health effects that can occur with high dosages. Working in an environmental health lab keeps me on my toes as I am learning more about how my public health knowledge ties into the different projects that I’ve been introduced to. My main goals in the near future is after receiving my bachelors degree I will apply to the new Physician Assistant program here at UofA, and go back home to my reservation to specialize my work focusing on adolescent health.
