Dona (she/her)

Hi everyone! My name is Dona! I am a third-year health promotion major with an emphasis in behavioral medicine on the pre-med track; however, before going to medical school, I plan to complete my master's in health policy and management through Double Dawgs here at UGA. I was born in Dubai, UAE, but have lived in Grayson, Georgia, for the majority of my life! Being a minority in STEM, I have faced numerous challenges throughout my education with racism, sexism, or unwarranted stereotypes or prejudices since my young ages; furthermore, I have seen and heard the challenges many BIPOC individuals face in STEM environments that affect their mental health and success; because of this, I felt convicted to join the ACCESS lab to improve learning spaces for all BIPOC individuals. Here at UGA, I am an ambassador for ServeUGA, a member of AMSA, and I volunteer at the UCBC and as a CLA for general chemistry students. Off campus, I volunteer at my church as a Sunday school teacher and as a crisis text line volunteer. In my free time, I love reading, volunteering, finding new music, spending time with loved ones, and trying new things. In the future, I aim to be an oncologist who does research on the side to improve health care policy for all people and work to reduce the impacts social determinants have on health.