Student Leadership and Interns

Faith is a 3rd year Psychobiology major with a Spanish minor at UCLA. She joined the Student Leadership Club after being greatly inspired by UMEC’s mission in making healthcare more affordable and accessible. Faith hopes to go to medical school to become an ophthalmologist in the near future. Outside of UMEC, Faith works in sports medicine with the UCLA men’s basketball team.

Rachel is a 4th year Biology major at UCLA. She joined UMEC to become more involved in eye care. She also has great passion to help the medically underserved population. After graduation, Rachel will be attending UC Berkeley School of Optometry to become an optometrist. Outside of her UMEC position, she enjoys spending time with her two lovely cats named Basil and Pesto.

David is a 3rd year Physiological Sciences major at UCLA. He was inspired to join UMEC because of his interest in ophthalmology. This interest was sparked by his experiences with helping his mother with her severe eye conditions. Beyond graduation, he plans to pursue an MD. degree, with a specialization in ophthalmology. Outside of UMEC, David enjoys eating meals with friends and family, but dislikes eating mushrooms.

Kaitlynn is a 4th year Psychobiology major at UCLA. She joined UMEC because she is extremely passionate about healthcare equity and reducing barriers to compassionate service. Kaitlynn believes that vision is a basic human right, and loves UMEC's mission. She is proud to be able to support the doctors who provide essential services to medically underserved communities. Her goal is to attend optometry school and become an optometrist. She aspires to own her own private practice and specialize in dry eyes in the future. Outside of UMEC, Kaitlynn is involved in the Mobile Clinic Project at UCLA, Vision to Learn at UCLA, and works at a private optometric practice in Westwood.

Ashley is a 3rd year Molecular Cell and Developmental Biology major with a Global Health minor at UCLA. Ashley joined UMEC to become more involved with the UCLA community and to serve the greater LA area in providing quality and accessible care. After graduation, Ashley plans to pursue a career in optometry in the future. In addition to being a part of UMEC, Ashley is also involved in the UCLA Pre-Optometry Society, Community Outreach for Health Literacy, and Kyodo Taiko.

Aniket is a 1st year Computational and Systems Biology student at UCLA. As an aspiring physician hoping to attend medical school, Aniket joined UMEC to further develop his understanding of the healthcare industry. Having founded a nonprofit organization in high school, UMEC’s mission of supporting medically underserved communities resonates very strongly with him. Outside of UMEC, Aniket is involved in a program that mentors students at a local LA high school. Additionally, he is part of two research laboratories at UCLA, loves to listen to and play music, and try new food.

Dayna is a 4th year Human Biology and Society student at UCLA. She is passionate about breaking down barriers to equitable healthcare access, and promoting theadoption of trauma-informed care practices in client-provider interactions. She believes that it is crucial to facilitate mutual trust between clients and providers, acknowledging the difficulties and intricacies associated with navigating America’s healthcare system. Her experiences with UMEC have empowered her to become involved in community health advocacy during her time at UCLA and in her future career. She is hoping to pursue a career in medicine and pedagogy. Outside of UMEC, she has been a student researcher with the Schwingshackl Lab at the David Geffen School of Medicine, an undergraduate instructor of UCLA’s Vietnamese Medical Terminology course, and a Pedagogy Head learning assistant for UCLA’s Organic Reactions and Pharmaceuticals course. In her free time, she enjoys playing volleyball, DJ-ing, and cooking.

Ivy is a 4th year Biology student at UCLA. After assisting in vision acuity research in a UCLA undergraduate research lab, she developed a great interest in learning about vision and the eye. She joined UMEC to further her knowledge in the aspect of eye care, and is honored to be a part of an organization that helps so many medically underserved communities. She plans to attend optometry school to become an optometrist in the future. Outside of UMEC, she is involved in other healthcare related organizations, and additionally works at an optometry clinic and at the UCLA Life Sciences Core Education Department. In her free time, she enjoys watching films and roller skating.

John is a 3rd year Biology student at UCLA. Interested in the healthcare fields of optometry and ophthalmology, he was drawn to UMEC’s mission to improve access to eye care for the medically underserved populations in Los Angeles. Having volunteered in his hometown of Sacramento to address the impacts of housing insecurity in the past, John is motivated to help provide quality care and resources for the medically underserved in Los Angeles. In addition to interning at UMEC, John works as a student assistant at the Cataract and Refractive Surgery Division at the Jules Stein Eye Institute. In his free time, John enjoys being a part of Grace on Campus, swimming, playing basketball, piano, guitar, and spending quality time with friends and family.