This summer, Health & Medicine welcomes our sixth cohort of interns in our Equity Intern Program: Mehwish Ali, Anuj Jain, and Mayra Miranda!

Mehwish Ali, Summer 2022 Ben Squires Equity Intern, is currently enrolled as a Master of Public Health student at Benedictine University in the divisions of Epidemiology and Health Management and Policy. She graduated from Loyola University in 2020 with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Biology. Mehwish discovered her passion for public health while completing her undergraduate degree. In her free time she enjoys cooking, traveling and watching movies.

Anuj Jain is currently a Master of Public Health Student at University of Illinois at Chicago, concentrating in Health Policy & Administration. Originally from Buffalo, New York, Anuj graduated from SUNY College at Buffalo in 2015. Prior to their admission at UIC, Anuj worked in various human services positions, including as a group home counselor for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, a legal assistant in New York State Family Court, and a care coordinator for people living with HIV/AIDs. Anuj applied to the MPH program at UIC with the hopes of learning more about upstream solutions to the inequities they had witnessed. In their free time, Anuj is an avid cyclist moonlighting as a bike messenger in downtown Chicago; they also enjoy reading, eating good food, hammocking on a hot day, and roaming around art galleries.

Mayra Miranda is a Master of Public Health student at the University of Illinois at Chicago in the Community Health Sciences division. Originally from Chicago, she graduated with her BA in Gender and Women Studies from UW-Madison in 2014 and her BSN from Resurrection University in 2017. Before working as Registered Nurse in community health and care management at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) in Chicago, Mayra completed an AmeriCorps term as a Health Educator at a school-based health center in North Lawndale. Mayra is passionate about preventative health and empowering community members to be participants in their health through education and advocacy. She enjoys volunteering, reading, and trying new restaurants.

In 2018, Health & Medicine created an Internship Equity Committee charged with developing a new model for internships, called the Equity Intern Program, in which unpaid intern labor is replaced with a paid internship model, and for which we established a “one door” application process so that opportunities are not limited to the well-connected. Providing paid internships is an important step toward creating and sustaining a diverse, equitable, accessible, and inclusive workforce.

A successful internship can be an integral part of a person’s education and professional development. Our internship program supports the next generation of professionals who share the belief in our mission of health equity and social justice. Our interns are largely graduate students in the Chicagoland area interested in gaining experience in public health. Health & Medicine supports three cohorts of three interns per year, for a total of nine interns.