Like many, I saw and felt the impacts of COVID-19. What struck me was how my peers' rapidly declining mental health was seemingly ignored. I decided to dedicate myself to psychology so that I wouldn't be on the sidelines in a similar crisis. I hope to become an adolescent psychiatrist that can help even one child in the future. With this goal in mind, I've spent my time gaining research experience. I spent the summer of 2022 at The Duke Clinical Research Institute being trained in academic research before coauthoring a paper on the effects of COVID-19 on hospitalized neonates. From there, I was an undergraduate research assistant at the UNC Department of Psychiatry, where we studied the mood changes of those undergoing perimenopause.
As I discovered my professional interests, I realized that the startingly lack of mental health professionals and care is a widespread issue. In my home country of Malawi, Africa, as of 2020, there were only two registered psychiatrists working for the government in a country of 18 million. I have dedicated myself to bringing awareness to this lack and working to resolve it all around the world.
“Cardea Fellows provided me with a community before I even stepped foot on campus”
