Hello! My name is Brigette Zamor and I am a rising junior at UM. I am majoring in Community and Global Public Health. This summer, I am interning at Hitha Healing House, specifically with their Nurturing Roots Maternal Program. Hitha Healing House is a nonprofit that aims to provide holistic resources for communities in Detroit. The Nurturing Roots Maternal Program is a pilot initiative that is geared towards new families and mothers to offer holistic support during postpartum.
To me, community means people collaborating to achieve a common goal and/or an environment where you feel comfortable coming together with others. I became attracted to doing community work in Detroit, primarily after the pandemic. The pandemic showed me the huge need for reforms in public health policies, and I wanted to find a way to be an active part of a neighboring community.
One strength that I have that will help me be successful with my community project is that I am very open-minded which will allow me to understand the nuanced needs of the Nurturing Roots Maternal Program and the families that we serve. I believe being open-minded while working with underserved populations is crucial so that you can better adapt to those whom you aim to help. One thing that I would like to strengthen this summer is my research analysis skills. For example, at Hitha Healing House, I aim to input data gained from postpartum mothers and track their progress. At the end of this program, something that would make me proud would be seeing how our families and postpartum mothers have achieved their wellness goals.
Hi Brigette! It was so nice getting to know you over the past few days, your site sounds so interesting as I am also interested in maternal and postpartum health. I agree that being open-minded is definitely an important quality to have when participating in community engaged research and serving the community. I hope you enjoy the rest of your internship and gain more valuable skills!
I share your definition of community, I think the pandemic really showed why a community is needed in life. I can also see how your definition relates to the strength you mentioned, you sound wonderful and I hope we get a chance to talk more!