meet the team
In high school, Ariel learned that she could combine her interests in medicine and policy through the magical field of public health. Spurred by her newly developed passion, she founded a publication dedicated to spreading awareness regarding important and pertinent public health issues for her school community. Soon recognizing the lack of awareness and necessary conversation surrounding crucial public health issues, she decided to create a website to facilitate interest and discussion for youth across the world.
ARIEL HYUNSEO KIM
FOUNDER & MANAGING EDITOR
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
School: Harvard College, Cambridge, MA
VIDHYA PATHY
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Hometown: Denver, CO
School: Bates College,
Lewiston, ME
Vidhya is from Colorado. Vidhya is passionate about health policy, music, and life sciences. Vidhya is thrilled to bring her unique perspective and voice to this website. As associate editor, she hopes to help spread the importance of public health policy in the larger context of the world.
SABAHAT RAHMAN
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Hometown: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
School: Choate Rosemary Hall,
Wallingford, CT
Sabahat is a senior at Choate Rosemary Hall with a passion for biology, mathematics, and medicine. Looking ahead to college, she plans to major in biomedical engineering and pursue her passions! In her free time, she enjoys walking or running outdoors, reading books, baking, and spending time with friends and family!
WILLIAM ROBERTSON
ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Hometown: Lynchburg, VA
School: University of Chicago,
Chicago, IL
Will, originally from Virginia, studied Arabic extensively and studied abroad at the King's Academy in Madaba, Jordan. Will is passionate about languages, social sciences, international relations, and music. Outside of school, he loves to travel, and spent his 2019 summer abroad in Korea. As associate editor, he is excited to spark discussions regarding public health comprised of voices from across the world.
DASHA ASIENGA
COPY EDITOR
Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya
School: Amherst College,
Amherst, MA
Ever since she was young, Dasha has always had a passion for the health sciences. During high school, she further developed a passion for writing and activism. She hopes to pursue a career in mental health, which beautifully combines her three interests, especially given the mental health climate in her own country. In the summer of 2018, she shadowed a doctor in a low-income, middle-income, and high-income hospital in Kenya, and she was surprised to experience the stark difference in healthcare across income levels. By studying Neuroscience and Psychology in college, she hopes to spark a change in mental health policies back at home.
RUKAN SAIF
COPY EDITOR
Hometown: Arcadia, CA
School: Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD
An avid reader and podcast-lover, Rukan has her school to thank for introducing her to the world of public health after stumbling upon its undergraduate public health journal. Since then, she has developed passions for minority health equity and biostatistics; she hopes to work in developing countries in the future. You can catch Rukan writing—she loves spoken word poetry—or spending time with her friends and family.
CLAIRE YUAN
COPY EDITOR
Hometown: Woodbridge, CT
School: Choate Rosemary Hall,
Wallingford, CT
Hailing from the East Coast, Claire is a current student whose primary interests lie in medicine and biochemistry. She also loves to read and write, though, and will take any and all book recommendations. Claire wants to help people however she can and hopes to one day travel the world, sparking change wherever she goes.
MICHELLE JUNG
COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR
Hometown: Logan, UT
School: Wellesley College,
Wellesley, MA
Michelle is planning on studying biochemistry in college and pursuing a career in epidemiology. She wishes to travel to areas affected by pandemics and conduct research there. She joined Connect in Health to help foster increased awareness about the current epidemics that engulf our society and educate myself about other nations’ health care systems.
ANN KIM
COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
School: Korea International School,
Seongnam, South Korea
Ann has always had a great passion for the field of public health. Ever since returning from her trip to West Virginia witnessing a frontside view of the opium epidemic, she has been conducting vigilant research in the field of public health, specifically to drug addiction. She is also interested in software engineering and computer programming and wishes to integrate her knowledge with public health.
JAY KIM
COMMUNICATIONS EDITOR
Hometown: Los Angeles, CA
School: Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY
Jay is a rising freshman in college, and her service experience in high school—working with children and adolescents with special needs—sparked her interest in the health sciences. Besides, she is interested in non-profit management and youth engagement with regards to global health. In her free time, she likes drawing, being outdoors, and spending time with her dog.
SENCHING HSIA
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Hometown: London, England
School: Choate Rosemary Hall, Wallingford, CT
Senching is a junior at Choate, who recently moved to North Haven, CT, from London. Her main passions include the visual arts and the sciences. Inspired by the cause of promoting awareness of public health to people worldwide, Senching joined Connect in Health, combining both her scientific and creative aspirations as a graphics editor. She hopes to stimulate important discussions surrounding the public health sphere using her artistic viewpoint.
ALEX JEON
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
School: Korea International School,
Seongnam, South Korea
Currently residing in South Korea, Alex is a student with a booming interest in chemistry and microbiology. Ever since his older brother began sharing and venting issues concerning his depression and GAD, Alex developed a fervent dedication for researching and promoting awareness for mental health. By being a part of Connect in Health, he hopes to contribute to the advocacy of information regarding mental conditions, drug abuse, as well as other public health issues through the creation of graphics!
HELENA KIM
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Hometown: Calgary, Canada
School: McMaster University,
Hamilton, Canada
Helena is currently an undergraduate student studying Health Sciences. Always having had a passion for art, she hopes to combine her interests in public health and spark conversation that's aided by a visual representative to better understand the topic at hand.
MADELINE LEE
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Hometown: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
School: University College London,
London, England
Originally from Hong Kong, Madeline grew up with an interest in writing, philosophy, and the arts. Madeline was the Graphics Editor of Deerfield Academy's school newspaper. Her interest in health began with exploring the societal effects of mental disorders in America and Asian countries and bringing to light the mental health stigma. Now working with Connect in Health, she looks forward to participating in discussions regarding international healthcare and encouraging others to do the same.
ELAINE ZHANG
GRAPHICS EDITOR
Hometown: Las Vegas, NV
School: Choate Rosemary Hall,
Wallingford, CT
Ever since she was young, Elaine has been passionate about the life sciences, sometimes spending time in a lab to satisfy her curiosity. Recent events as well as her travels to other nations inspired Elaine to further research global health issues and simultaneously fostered an interest in environmental science as it threatens public health, particularly in areas with large social disparities. As a graphics editor of Connect in Health, Elaine aspires to use not only words but also art to raise awareness of the importance of public health, especially in a rapidly changing world.
contributors
WASIF ALI
Hometown: Canberra, Australia
School: Monash University,
Melbourne, Australia
SARAH BAEK
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
School: Seoul International School,
Seongnam, South Korea
BOB CHEN
Hometown: Guangzhou, China
School: Wooster School,
Danbury, CT
AMITRA HOQ
Hometown: Easton, CT
School: Choate Rosemary Hall,
Wallingford, CT
KAMSI ILOEJE
Hometown: Cromwell, CT
School: Boston University,
Boston, MA
DA-YOUNG (DIANE) KANG
Hometown: Jeju Island, South Korea
School: Johns Hopkins University,
Baltimore, MD
SUNGWON CHO
Hometown: Seongnam, South Korea
School: Cornell University,
Ithaca, NY
GAREEMA DHIMAN
Hometown: Logan, UT
School: University of Utah,
Salt Lake City, UT
LARYSSA GAZDA
Hometown: Framingham, MA
School: Boston College,
Newton, MA
YEJUN LEE
Hometown: Dubai, UAE
School: Korea University,
Seoul, South Korea
ANIKA MIDHA
Hometown: Singapore, Singapore
School: Choate Rosemary Hall,
Wallingford, CT
CHRISTINA MIN
Hometown: Auckland, New Zealand
School: Monash University,
Melbourne, Australia
LIZZIE QUINN
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
School: Columbia University,
New York City, NY
SHRUTHI SUNDAR
Hometown: Stratham, NH
School: Wellesley College,
Wellesley, MA
RUWAYDA SYED
Hometown: Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
School: Dhahran High School,
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia
CELINE YOO
Hometown: Seoul, South Korea
School: Canterbury School,
New Milford, CT