2022 Edition
"The most beautiful moments always seemed to accelerate and slip beyond one’s grasp just when you want to hold onto them for as long as possible."
-E.A. Bucchianeri
ABOUT US Here at AMWA UTD, we want to do our very best to inform you of all of the issues relevant to women and healthcare, together and separately. We hope that our monthly newsletter becomes an enlightening source to you all as we learn about the multitudes of essential topics and issues that we all need to be aware of.
The Editor’s Take: The Last Edition
By: Shraddha Trehan
Dear AMWA UTD,
We have finally arrived at the last edition. Everything that begins comes to an end, and so now has come my time with AMWA UTD. Along with harping on how this has been one of the best, most fruitful, just wholly wonderful experiences in college for me, I’d like to take this moment to show sincere gratitude. AMWA has been a place for me not just to find intelligence and kindness but true friendship and happiness. I couldn’t find my niche until I found AMWA, until I found the newsletter.
I hope that we have brought you intrigue, thoughtfulness, and a moment to just read during your day over the past two years. A moment to read something powerful, a message that makes you really think, a newsletter that you enjoy finding in your inbox. As AMWA moves on throughout the years, I pray the newsletter is here to stay. Women can look back on each edition and know that love and thought were put into each letter, word, and article.
When you think about it, the word women encapsulates so much. So many people, thoughts, and experiences. This year, the AMWA Banquet theme is Glow and Grow, and nobody does that better than women. As we all experience this human experience, as we all grow and learn to glow, I hope the newsletter has touched a part of your experience that feels personal that you can relate to. In a way, every article has been my favorite article, every month my favorite month, because when I felt a hardship, I knew I could write about it in the newsletter, and that has meant a lot to me.
I’d like to end by asking each of you to take a moment after reading this newsletter to fill out our final ASK AMWA poll of the year. We have worked very hard as an organization and would love and appreciate your feedback. You can find the poll link here: https://forms.gle/oixN3D6ZdeF7ss3p8.
Please keep reading. Keep growing, keep glowing. Email the new Editor-in-Chief about topics you would like to see in the future newsletter, I promise we want to write about them. Reach out to her, your peers, your loved ones. Keep experiencing the experience. And thank you for all of it.
Signing off for the Last time, Shraddha :)
April Reflection
By: Megan Zachariah
I joined the newsletter committee my junior year. We had just begun virtual education, and I struggled, as did everyone during that time, to engage in meaningful experiences outside of classes. Bombarded with breaking news and rapidly changing definitions of the “new normal”, I often felt isolated by the deluge of information and opinions. The ability to consolidate my thoughts and contribute to the monthly newsletter was one of the highlights of my entirely virtual junior year. Seeing my article published and available to be read by our AMWA community helped anchor me during a time when I often went days without seeing another person. I was incredibly fortunate to continue contributing to the newsletter, and I am so proud to see how much the newsletter has grown in the past year alone.
I have never been very confident in my writing abilities, but much of my apprehension stemmed from a lack of a meaningful outlet. When you care about something, you will find a way to express it and share it with others. Looking back at my undergraduate experience, I am glad I was able to challenge myself and now have something to reflect back on as I continue my pre-health journey.I look forward to seeing the newsletter’s continued growth. I hope to see it provide diverse outlets reflective of the myriad of talents and opinions that make up our UTD community.
Looking Back
By: Hibah Rasool
Reflecting on this year, I feel grateful to have had the opportunity to be a member of this committee. I’ve learned so many new perspectives whether it was through researching, reading other members’ articles, discussions with the committee about topics, or writing paired articles. It has been wonderful getting to know the officers, committee members, editor-in-chief, and other AMWA members. The platform provided by this newsletter has been empowering and allowed us to use our voices to advocate and raise awareness about concerning issues and discuss intriguing topics. The issues we’ve highlighted throughout the past year are not only important to the AMWA community but also to society as a whole. Coming together to educate one another will allow us to build a society in which we are supportive and able to uplift others during times of need. Looking back at the accomplishments over the past couple of years, I’m confident that this newsletter and what it stands for will continue to thrive in the future.
April Reflection
By: Amulya Bhaskara
Being a writer for the newsletter committee has been an amazing experience. Not only did I get to meet like-minded individuals, but I got the chance to learn about science, medicine, politics, and history and share my discoveries with all of you. I had always been interested in scientific writing on a more educational level, but I never got the opportunity to explore it beyond publishing a few articles for clubs here and there. Having a dedicated role as a writer for AMWA let me strengthen my writing skills and learn how to explain my ideas in an understandable and engaging way- something a lot of science majors (including myself) struggle with at times. One part of being on the writing team that I really enjoyed was the freedom to choose the topics I wanted to discuss that month. I didn’t just have to report on healthcare news but could stretch the limits of what could fall under the umbrella of health and science. One thing I would love to improve for next year is to have printed articles, to help spread the word about the articles and get more reader feedback on what you all would love to see. Overall, I really enjoyed my time on this committee, and I can’t wait to see how the newsletter grows in the next few years.
2021 Vision: A Year in Review
By: Zoe Du
It is hard to believe that it has already been 7 months since I began writing for AMWA Newsletter and that another school year is coming to an end. When I started college, I thought “I’m a bio major-surely I won’t be doing much writing.” Well, I was clearly very wrong, but I am glad that I was. Being on the AMWA newsletter committee has been such an enriching experience, and removed from the context of grades and assignments, I found that I enjoy writing.
So far this year, I have written about topics as varied as mental health, antibiotic resistance, the Texas Heartbeat Bill and reproductive health, and even more personal articles about my own health and struggle with chronic pain. The process of finding a topic I want to write about, doing research to provide the most accurate information I can, and articulating my thoughts has pushed me to share parts of my own story, as well as explore aspects of medicine and health that I might not have thought too deeply about before. Having the opportunity to share my thoughts and perspectives about difficult and sometimes overlooked issues has been incredibly empowering, and it has underscored the fact that learning and growth never really stop. I have been exposed to diverse experiences and topics, and I feel less ignorant now than I did before. I hope that I have been able to share a new perspective or even just a new fact to you the readers through my writing.
So thank you to everyone who has read the newsletter and cared to read what the newsletter committee has to say. Thank you for tuning in and following along this journey with my fellow writers and me. I am grateful for your support and the platform you have all given me to express my opinions. Until next year!
My AMWA Reflection
By: Anjali Binoy
Writing with the AMWA Newsletter Committee this past year was a privileged experience. Putting aside the obstacles we initially faced with COVID-19 restrictions, the members were all able to work as a team - whether it was through group virtual meetings, or writing our paired articles together.
Personally, I have always loved writing and always relied on writing as a way to channel some of my energy. Having a pen in my hand allowed me the freedom to just let everything out and also challenge myself in writing style, jargon, and even challenge my own perspectives. However, as a freshman on the pre-med track in college, I fully lost my touch with writing because of how overwhelming the college and COVID-19 crossover ended up being in all facets of life.
This changed with the Newsletter Committee. I met pre-health students who shared a passion for writing and together we created an environment where we can voice our opinions, collaborate on our works, and also consider other perspectives. I’m so thankful to all the girls I worked with this year, including Shraddha, our wonderful (and patient) editor-in-chief, and Ashwini, our bridge with the whole AMWA team! I’m so grateful for this opportunity and really value everything I have learned this past academic year with all these wonderful women. I can’t wait to see the things the Newsletter Committee will accomplish next year!
Looking Back
By: Tanya Baiju
Being part of the AMWA UTD Newsletter committee has been an amazing and mind-opening experience. Writing has always been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember. Most of the things I would write fall mainly under fiction and poetry. Other than writing lab reports, I had never really written about research or concepts within healthcare. When I joined the Newsletter Committee, I was introduced to a whole new world where I could combine writing and medicine and make something cohesive out of it. Within the past year, I have written about National Healthcare Equity, Microarray Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and a list of reading recommendations. With concepts that involve technology, it was exciting to research and learn more about the current state and scope of healthcare. One of my favorite articles I have written is the “Three Great Reads for Pre-Health Students.” I used to be an avid reader until I got busy with school. However, reading those books gave me such interesting perspectives and it got me excited to spend more time reading.
Aside from writing, I enjoyed collaborating and learning from the other members of the Newsletter Committee. Whether it was through working on a paired article or reading their individual articles, I learned tremendously about mental health, socio-economic issues, and women’s health.
Overall, being a writer for the Newsletter gave me a chance to discuss concepts that were close to me. I am thankful to the officer team, the committee, and all of the readers for supporting our articles.
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