Cape Town South Africa Summer Field School
Q: What
is UVA in Cape Town South Africa Summer Field
School?
A: It’s a
five-week summer program for students interested in public health and medicine.
The field school fully immerses participants in a public health project from
inception to completion. You will start with a preparatory project, which helps
you understand the community and how to effectively interact with community
members. As a music major, my preparatory project was to explore the role of
music in our township! My teammates and I spent hours going door-to-door asking
residents what types of music they listen to!
After
presenting the preparatory project, you will be assigned your main project.
There are students from many different academic backgrounds, so projects change
every year based on the background of participants and needs of the community.
Some projects are more pre-health focused and some are heavier on anthropology.
I was part of a team of six undergraduate students working on social behavioral
effects of chronic illnesses in the community. Our project required a public
health and anthropological approach. I have engaged in public health projects
in the past, but what made this program unique was the utilization of
anthropology to help produce results for some core public health issues.
Q: How
did you learn about this program?
A: During
my Critical Public Health PHS2559.
Q: What
made you decide to engage in this clinical opportunity?
A: I took
a J-term course in critical public health. I was quite nervous both because it
was my first public health course and a J-term course. The coursework was quite
heavy, but within two weeks, I found myself fully engaged in the topic. Towards
the end of the term, our instructor introduced the program, and I decided to
take what I had learned to the next level.
Q: What
did your experience in this position consist of? Can you describe a typical
day?
A: A
typical day would start with Xhosa lessons. Xhosa is the local language in our
township, so we spend an hour everyday sharpening our language skills before
going out to the community. Every project was led by a public health
professional as project advisor and a local resident as translator. After
mapping out the area and identifying our interviewees, we would go conduct our
interview which would typically take about an hour. During each interview, we had
two teammates ask questions and one take notes. After each interview, we would
reconvene to reflect and discuss the quality of the interview. After an hour
break around noon for lunch, we continued the interview and discussion cycle
until 5pm.
Q: What
distinguished this opportunity from other options you might have pursued?
A: I have
always enjoyed public health, fieldwork, and in general community work, but I
was always doubtful if I could do well abroad. This program helped me realized
how much I enjoy fieldwork and community work. In the past, I feared language
barrier and cultural differences might get in the way, but we are all part of
human race and with some genuine mindfulness we can connect each other
regardless of the language we speak or our cultural background. As result, I’m
applying for Peace Corp after graduation.
Q: Why do
you recommend this opportunity for other UVA grads?
A: The
program has an extensive focus on health disparity and equity; this topic is
also very significant in many communities here in the U.S. Therefore, for those
who are planning to pursue a degree in health or work in underrepresented
communities, this program is an invaluable experience. For those who are
planning to pursue medicine, this program would help them to establish and
maintain a stronger and more meaningful connection with their patients in the
future.
Q: How
did this experience help to prepare you for your next step?
A: First
and foremost, this program helped me to expand my view towards health work in
general. It enabled me to identify multi-layer issues around health disparity
and choose an effective method of analysis for further studies. In a broader
sense, this program made me a better observer, a better listener, and a better
teammate, all of which are essential for my future fieldworks. It also helped
me develop a greater sense of respect and appreciation towards different
perspectives through hours and hours of fieldwork.
Q: Is
there anything else you would like to share?
A: Life
starts at the end of your comfort zone, so never fear challenge but be
prepared!
Pouya
Pairo is a 4th year transfer student in the College majoring in Music. He is the
Vice President of Programs for Daniel Hale Williams and has served on the
Pre-Health Student Leadership Advisory Board for two years. He is interested in
public health and the osteopathic approach to medicine.
