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Wow! I can't believe it's already week 13! This semester went by so quickly! Our semester-long final presentations are finally complete, and I thoroughly liked the experience. I believe the design thinking process was well-designed. We asked people about their perspectives on the COVID-19 immunization the first time the class met in person, which led us into the habit of interrogating random people about COVID-19. We then teamed up with a middle school to create Corsi-Boxes, which taught us more about how air particles work and provided an easy DIY to aid with air filtering. Then we got together and proceeded to SARVIS Empowerment Café, where our project really got started. This is where my group and I interviewed Sandra and learned about her background and thoughts on the COVID-19 vaccination. After that, we met in groups every time we got together to brainstorm our project, and we gradually achieved our aim. I also appreciated how we went around to each group at the end of each lesson to get an idea of what they were doing. I believe that by doing so, each group will be able to generate more ideas for their own group. In our most recent in-person session, I saw a group present a 3D model of their project, and I immediately asked them what program they were using for my group's project. I loved seeing how everyone has their own unique person with their own unique ambitions as we all presented our ideas. Despite the fact that our efforts were all unique, we all had the same goal in mind: to get people vaccinated. Minorities and the less privileged will have easier access to the COVID-19 vaccine. To be honest, I really like the final presentation that my group and I came up with. Our core concept came to fruition at the ethnic store when we captured Sandra and interviewed her. Our creativity flowed when we decided to open our own supermarket with a variety of ethnic goods to appeal to the Prince George's County's minority. Overall this was a very successful and well set up class to achieve our final project. Thank you for everything!

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This week in class we continued to work on our final project to present. My group is designing a grocery store and we had it laid it out and designed it using Legos. Our initial design was cramped up and disorganized, so we decided that with our 1-million-dollar limit, we expanded it and made it larger. We added a garden where customers can rent out spaces to grow their produce. We also added a stage where customers can learn about the COVID vaccine but the stage itself would have multiple purposes such as cooking classes performing comedy shows or just fun engaging family activities. At the end of the class, we all went around each group and listen to everyone’s ideas. This one group was the one that caught my attention because they also mentioned having performers but to attend you would have to be vaccinated. Their whole idea too was a gradual process of getting the people to get vaccinated. For example, the first time they come, they’d be lectured on COVID-19 the next; lecture is about the vaccine and then it would be their choice to get vaccinated. If you get vaccinated, you can attend the concert. Their design was also created digitally and when they concluded I went to one of the group members and asked what the app they use was called. My group and I concluded that aside from our Lego demonstration we can create it into a digital grocery store that looks way better than just Legos. The app was called SketchUp, and we are adding it as part of our project. SketchUp is a 3D modeling computer tool for a broad range of drawing and design applications, including architectural, interior design, and product design. Adding this gives us the creative freedom to create the grocery store just how we want it.

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This week I was not able to attend our in-person class, but I was allowed to join the class over zoom. I was able to participate and give back feedback to each group. Each group presented an outline of their final project and who their project was specified for according to their interview.  I found each group's project very unique and interesting in the ways they went about fixing the COVID-19 vaccination problem. The one group that stood out for me proposed that they do on-the-go vaccination sites and mobile vaccination sites. This would help accommodate the elderly and handicapped people, bringing the vaccines to their homes instead of having the hassle of them going out to the vaccination sites. For my group specifically, we are doing our project on a middle-aged woman who only spoke Spanish. On the board my group had it all outlined, including how we’re going to have a social media involvement that will have a translation for Spanish speakers. We also plan on including pamphlets of COVID-19 vaccinations sites in Spanish all around common grocery stores and pharmacies around Prince George’s County, more specifically in the areas with lower economic status. Later on, groups were divided to talk more about the presentation. Surayyah then took me over to my group to talk to them. They explained to me how they we’re using Legos to build pharmacies and grocery stores. The stinky notes were used as posters and pamphlets to put around their pharmacies and grocery stores. I like this hands-on activity because it brings our idea to life even though it’s just with Legos. This semester is coming to an end all too fast! My group and I have been working on our final project as well as taking the advice we got from Dr. Thomas’s collogues last week, trying to make our final presentation to be perfect.

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Each group showed its quick mind mapping mural board to a colleague of Dr. Thomas last class. My group created a map based on an interview with a lady conducted by one of my groupmates. She was a middle-aged woman who only spoke Spanish, which posed a problem when she attempted to obtain the COVID-19 vaccination. Social media knowledge was one of our primary points. Our plan was to use Instagram, Facebook, and QR codes to promote the event, all of which could be seen in a different language to assist individuals whose first language is not English. We feel this is a smart concept because social media and phone usage has become widespread, and it is a readily accessible source for people of all ages, particularly those in their middle years. We also spoke about putting up signs at physicians' offices and pharmacies, particularly in Hispanic neighborhoods, to increase access everywhere. Some of our coworkers offer helpful suggestions for making our mind maps more explicit. Each group then proceeded to display its mind mapping to the entire class after viewing two to three colleagues. Colleagues then weigh in with their last thoughts. When my group arrived, one of the criticisms we received was that we did not introduce ourselves. This was an honest blunder from which we have learnt and will better in the future. This week's session was enjoyable for me since we got to work in groups and solve problems when it came to questions. We also got to know each other in a more personal level. We also all learned a lot from the colleagues, especially when we were given different points of views. I am excited to continue with this class moving forward especially with the final project. I have learned a lot so far and it’s opened my views on healthcare.

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We reviewed our homework’s this week, and I thought several of the arguments made by other groups to be really interesting. One of them was that for some people, being vaccinated or not getting vaccinated is a political statement. Her plan was to make the vaccination a health issue rather than a political one, because, in the end, it is for everyone's health and safety. Another intriguing concept Having necessary modules regarding the covid-19 vaccine was mentioned in class as a plus. Dr. Thomas stated that the word required appeared to be harsh, and that people nowadays despise anything that is mandatory, but I respectfully disagree. Many workplaces need you to complete various sorts of necessary modules in order to continue working, and I feel that include a program on Covid-19 and immunization is a good idea. It is not about forcing you to get the vaccination; rather, it is about educating and informing the employee so that they may be vaccinated. We also conducted an exercise about the river of life and how pebbles and boulders function as impediments to life's natural flow. This struck me as an intriguing metaphor. On one side of the river, there was a pile of rocks, which I interpreted as all of my hurdles that I had previously overcome. A normal running river ran beside the mound of rocks, with rocks strewn around every now and again. This was more like my day-to-day existence to me. My life is excellent on some days and flows easily, showing where the river runs, but on other days, I face hurdles that make it difficult, indicating the rocks in the river, making my flow a little more difficult. I really enjoyed todays class because it made me think outside the regular box that is every day.

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In class this week we talked about how different conversations can go according to the response. We watched two videos about them and both end results were different. In the end we got assigned a homework related to what we saw in class. My group and I decided to do our homework about vaccinations and how we might encourage people to get vaccinated, not just for COVID-19. We came up with 4 different approaches. One was facilitating to the process, bringing the vaccine to the people. Examples of this included shopping mall schools and workplaces. The next one was policy changes; we would advocate for more accessible healthcare/free vaccines regardless of insurance. We could speak to the community and organize start a petition phone calls or emails to politicians and get involved in current efforts. The next way is to create initiative by offering something in return of getting vaccinated. This could include care packages gift cards or free meals. Lastly, we could educate people through different media outlets or talking to them directly. We could re-post on social media which caters to the youth have pamphlets and doctor’s officers especially in the waiting rooms for parents and patients and we could have them at schools and PTA meetings. For talking to them directly we can come prepared with facts keep the conversation positive and show empathy when trying to get them to get vaccinated.

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In class this week we talked about health disparities. For the purpose of calculating. Health equality is minimizing, and eventually eliminating, gaps in health and its factors that disproportionately impact excluded or underprivileged populations. It's probably not a health equality endeavor if it doesn't target poverty, prejudice, or their health-damaging effects for groups of individuals who have historically been excluded or marginalized. The medical department does a lot to insure everyone’s safety especially when it comes to COVID-19 but sometimes it’s not enough for some people. Like Dr. Thomas said in class, go the extra mile, don’t just build new hospital. Doing the minimal is okay for certain people but others have so many other challenges in life that reaching these resources are almost impossible. Prince Georges County is a very good example of this. Weirdly enough, Prince George’s County is one of the most diverse counties but at the same it is high in poverty and chronic diseases when compared to other neighboring counties and the state. When wanting to choose where to live, people are going to choose where medical access is most seen, in Prince George’s County there is not much of that compared to the other counties around. One other topic we had was smoking and nicotine usage. Back in the day Dr. Thomas said people would have smoke breaks, specifically with cigarettes. He asked if we see this on campus, but we don’t, this is very rare if anything. Back in the day it was cigarettes, for the new generation, vapes are the new cigs. We still don’t see them out in the open like Dr. Thomas used to but vape usage is very popular especially in this generation. This goes hand in hand with the risk factor. Usage of cigarettes or vapes increase your chances of developing lung cancer, or any disease related to your lungs.

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This week I was not able to attend in person class at the cafe. I proceeded to ask my group what was done in class so I can have some idea of what I missed and what to write about but no one answered. I've been having a really hard semester this semester and I've been meaning to talk to Dr. Thomas or one of the TA's about my absences. I hope you guys can understand, if I get points taken off for today's Padlet post, it's most definitely understandable. I tried reaching out and had no response therefore I don't have much to write about this week. Have a good spring break!!

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COVID-19 vaccinations are extensively provided across the United States, although not everyone has equal access to them. The video is about CommuniVax which is a nationwide initiative aimed at better understanding the needs of Black and Hispanic communities as they navigate the epidemic and look forward to a better future after COVID-19. In the video, they explained how they interviewed community members, local community leaders, healthcare providers, parents, and public health experts for the video to learn more about what is going on in their neighborhood and what needs to be done in the future. These interviews yielded a lot of information. Residents were disappointed when they sought vaccine appointments due to constantly changing eligibility defined by the state, limited supply, shifting information, and a complete dependence on often changing electronic systems to get vaccine appointments. The locations of immunization sites, as well as their hours of operation, posed transportation issues. I found all of this very interesting because my job is vaccinating people against COVID-19. I see all these problems firsthand and can recognize how there are so many obstacles in the way. One specifically obstacle is language barrier. Other than Hispanic or black communities, one of my shifts at work one day was assisting an Asian community who barley spoke any English. I was so surprised by how many people came to get their first and third dose. When I talked to the organizer, she told me that because COVID-19 vaccines are either online appointment or far away in an only English-speaking environment, these people were all scared to go or had no way to get there. I didn’t realize how much of an affect it has on others because I have the privilege of knowing my way around electronics and knowing English.

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Hello! My name is Nicole Pedraza, I am a Public Health Science major and I am a junior at UMD. I was born in Houston, Texas and my parents were both born in Colombia. I moved to Maryland when I was about 6 years old. My hobbies include working out and cooking. My favorite color at the moment is brown. I come from a family of 5. I have two brothers, one older and one younger. I'm the middle child and the only girl!

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What I learned from this week’s class is how to talk to people and how the questions you ask make a big impact on how the conversation is going to go overall. This was shown by doing a group activity during class where we interviewed our classmates and asked them how they feel about Monday’s. We saw that asking open ended questions resulted in more of a natural conversation rather than one word response questions. We later saw a YouTube video in class about how to approach strangers on the street. Brandon Stanton received the James Joyce Award from University College Dublin's Literary & Historical Society. Brandon claims he "thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City's inhabitants" when he started out in the summer of 2010 to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their images on a map. Since then, Humans of New York has grown into a collection of images of New Yorkers, as well as quotes and brief anecdotes Brandon has gathered from them while conversing with them. After class I looked up Humans of New York on Instagram and saw that is has 11.6 million followers. As I scrolled through the picture posted, I found it very interesting how every single person on their Instagram is a stranger, but they all have their own unique story to tell.

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Unfortunately, I was not able to attend in person class on February 11, 2022 due to a COVID-19 scare which coincidently goes hand in hand with the activity that was done. I was particularly looking forward to making the corsi boxes, which were, based on what I observed, a design for a do-it-yourself air purifier that could be made for a reasonable price. It was created during the COVID-19 pandemic with the purpose of lowering virus particle levels in indoor environments. I belive having done this would’ve been very beneficial for my family due to my mom being immunocompromised. The corsi box could’ve served as an extra barrier to reduce virus particles in my own home. I also missed out on interviewing fellow students around campus about COVID, so I did not get the ‘trial run’ before the homework assignment. When I got the notification about the homework, I was grocery shopping at giant near my house. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to interview people. At first, I was very shy, I am not the type to approach strangers and be able to make conversations, so this was a little out of my comfort zone. Luckily the first person I asked was super nice and agreed to answer my questions. I got their name, age, and demographics. I then asked them what they think about the whole pandemic and their view on how our country is handling it along with a few other questions. The second person i asked rejected me, and honestly it made me feel embarrassed but at the same time it was s stranger… so who cares. The third person I asked also was nice and agreed to answer my questions. I have never done anything like this for any of my classes but I am glad HLSA484 is getting me out of my comfort zone.

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This week we had a virtual meeting. We discussed a little about our experience surveying people. We also watched a video that made me change how I view people. This video was about people in New York City. I have four people in the video who stood out to me. There were two NYC subway dancers. They were expressing how they were happy doing what they were doing, even though everyone looked down on them. He explained why he comes during certain hours; it was to be away from all the crime that occurs in their neighborhood He expressed how he rather be dancing on the subway than be possibly linked to any crime. I found this very interesting because everyone’s first instinct is to judge, assume they’re not happy simply because they dance on the subway. When, in reality they are happy to be dancing on the subway and at the end of the day who are we to judge. They were doing it for their own good. Next were two sisters being interviewed. They were talking about their bucket list. A lot of the thing they were naming off the list are things certain people take for granted. They said they wanted to go to the beach, which fortunately, a lot of people get to experience yearly. Another thing they said was dying their hair. These sisters were wearing hijabs which is a religious act for some Muslim women. Even though no one expect themselves would be able to see their hair, it was something they looked so happy about. This is also something that hit me, most people dye their hair to look good for others, but others do it for themselves. I really enjoyed this week’s class, it was very interactive and i believe caught peoples attention.

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Due to a nail in my tire while I was driving to College Park Academy on Friday, I was unable to attend in-person class. I attempted to join the zoom call multiple times but I was never let in by the host so I also couldn’t participate via zoom. I liked how easy and well organized the process was to get permitted in the middle school. I was actually excited to attend class on Friday, I enjoy working with kids, especially middle schoolers. I also thought it was unique that the purpose of going to the middle school was to design the Corsi-Boxes. In the past couple weeks, we have done a lot of research about Corsi-Boxes. In the beginning of the semester, I had no idea what Corsi-Boxes were, but the more I learned about the structure and usage of them, I was mind blown. A simple DIY technique can help purify the air you breathe while also eliminating potentially dangerous substances. This is fantastic news, as we continue to battle the COVID-19 epidemic. I believe that showing this to middle school students is beneficial because they will be able to use what they have learned and notify their parents/guardians, and so on. Corsi-Boxes aren't as well-known as they should be, given their numerous advantages, particularly now. If I had been available on Friday, I would have gladly assisted in the construction of the Corsi-Boxes. A box fan, furnace filers, cardboard pieces, duct tape, and scissors/box knifer are among the materials that cost less than $100. Some interesting things I noticed while researching my infographic box are that the Corsi-Box has several names, it was discovered lately during the epidemic, and it can reduce noise and even extend the life of the filters to six months. There are all little facts I could’ve mentioned to the students.