On the Dynamics of Kitchen Utensils: Icebreakers, Discussion, and Preparation!
By Madeline Lei ’23
What do chopsticks, air fryers, espresso machines, and a grill have in common? Great question — they are the chosen kitchen utensil personalities of the people I worked with this summer!
To give some context, I worked on the pilot of a public health project connecting Tompkins County health providers with student resource navigators. A resource navigator is a Cornell student who is responsible for making calls to refer patients to resources they may need, navigating Ithaca resource lists, and following up with said patients.
This past summer, I worked individually with my mentors to develop this project, including figuring out a new web platform for calls and analyzing referral data, as well as with a group of 5 pilot student navigators to discuss and refine the project for the school semester. The project is meant to reach the wider Cornell student population by next year.
As a student, here’s what you can do:
1) Gain a better understanding of the Ithaca community. Learn more about local health resources and directly engage with those in need of such resources.
2) Invest your academic knowledge in a real project. Discover how it will impact the way you see work in this field!
3) Gain a better understanding of health disparities. This goes hand in hand with number 1 and number 2. Health disparities is a broad term, and I’ve taken many classes covering what they are and can be. While I know that nearly everything in one’s environment can impact one’s health, I think that the best way to learn is by listening and empathizing with people’s individual life stories. To this end, you can gain a wider and more nuanced perspective on the many different factors that come together to impact someone’s life, both mental and physical.
I think that the best way to learn is by listening and empathizing with people’s individual life stories
I attended virtual training each morning, led by my Cornell Cooperative Extension (CCE) mentors Grace and Jennifer, to learn more about my project and its context. Having worked on the project during the school year, being able to have a more in-depth experience where I could engage and share my own ideas was exciting.
We started by discussing what we wanted to be our collaborative group goals, where we touched on topics like correcting each other for biases in wording, listening to understand, and “saying it messy” — i.e., caring less about how the thought comes out, and just letting your words be heard.
We also reflected on the goals and context of this project, including its critical importance/extra emphasis with the pandemic, as well as the fact that there is only one OB-GYN office in Ithaca. With this much pressure to supply resources and knowledge, this project is novel in its goals to use students as mediators in guiding those in need to public health resources. Community stakeholders also came in to talk to us about their experiences, conduct practice calls with us, give advice on how to make calls more conversational and open, and answer our questions about the ways in which the pandemic has changed their work.
We also discussed the critical academic layout of this work: the effects of trauma on the brain, social determinants of health, and social risk factors. This type of work can be taxing, if only to understand the depth of others’ trauma, but we discussed these topics with a positive, strength-based light: noting and recognizing that there are ways to heal this trauma, especially through strong friendships and family relationships. The importance of community, at its core, is crucial to this work. Most importantly, when we are compassionate to ourselves and the many ways in which we often feel like life has thrown us under the bus, we are more forgiving and empathetic to those who are also struggling. This is key. We can more easily forgive and be empathetic to others when we can extend that same kindness to ourselves.
This type of work can be taxing, if only to understand the depth of others’ trauma, but we discussed these topics with a positive, strength-based light: noting and recognizing that there are ways to heal this trauma
On my own, I set up messaging channels and gained familiarity with the new web platform. I also worked with students to create a shift schedule, troubleshooted platform issues, and discussed new referrals as they arrived. Outside of that, I created a literature review based on successful community health programs, interviewed student navigators on their summer experience, and compiled our findings into a formal curriculum guide.
For all the time that I’ve been at Cornell, I’ve often felt that my student groups help only and just that — the Cornell community. As such, I found it incredibly refreshing to be able to use my skills for this collaborative work among the Greater Tompkins County.
A version of this post was previously published on Student Resource Navigator Program blog. © 2022
Madeline Lei ’23 is a senior at Cornell University majoring in Policy Analysis and Management and minoring in Healthy Futures. She is interested in exploring the intersection between public health and human-centered design. In her free time, she enjoys art advocacy, listening to new music, and designing clothing.
