Online MPH student spotlight: Healing Fresno with Mackenzie Saephanh

Transcript

Mackenzie Seifan: My name is Mackenzie Seifan. I’m of Lu Mien descent, so I’m an American, and I was born and raised here in the Central Valley. Both of my parents and my two older siblings were refugees after the Vietnam War. They came from Laos to the Thailand refugee camps and then over to America. I like to say that my parents’ dream was for my siblings and I to have the ability to dream and in that pursue the career of our dreams, the school of our dreams. And here I am today. I’m pursuing a career as a physician and applying to medical school after I complete my time at the Berkeley Masters in Public Health Program.

Being in the Central Valley we have access to so many beautiful sights and scenes. I love to read. It’s a great escape from work and studying. I like to go on hikes. You have tons of amazing areas. Yosemite just right around the corner. I also like to do running. I’ve recently taken that up. I have done three half marathons, and I’m doing my fourth in the fall. My family is what inspires me most. They are the reasons why I’m here today, and because of their sacrifices, I’m able to do what I do, and I love to say that they paved the path so that I could blaze trail.

H.E.A.L. was inspired by my work with UCSF Fresno mobile clinic, Mobile H.E.A.L, which also stands for Mobile Health and Learning, and it purely seeks to serve the underserved population; so those without access to insurance, without access to healthcare facilities, that is who we aim to serve. Everything we do, our full range of healthcare services, is completely free of charge. No appointments, no insurance, no documentation is necessary. H.E.A.L, there’s two versions of it. Mobile H.E.A.L and then H.E.A.L Together, which is what I use as my community service initiative for the Miss America and Miss California organization that really helps me to just put my focus on the underserved communities here, where our population, of course, lacks a lot of access.

We are also severely underserved when it comes to physicians and healthcare shortages. For every 100,000 residents, there is 47 physicians, and the state average is anywhere between 60–80. One of my biggest things and one of the things that I really want to do as a physician and with my Master in Public Health is be an advocate. I really just wanted to think of the best way to encompass that all together. That is how H.E.A.L was born. Health, equity, advocacy, and learning. I love this question. I get asked this a lot, especially because people know that I want to be a physician. I think oftentimes they think, well, why not, just go straight to Med School? For myself, I think when you are a physician, you focus a lot on the individual and diagnosing that specific disease and the symptoms that they present with. But in my case, I really want to learn about the community. This is the community that I grew up in. This is the community that I want to work with and heal and just move forward and pass all these different things and challenges that we are facing.

Berkeley Master of Public Health and the Rural Health Innovative Scholarship Program really was a perfect fit to help me achieve all of those dreams. Now, with my Health Policy and Management concentration, my goal is to just be able to come back and, again, be at the forefront in advocating for my fellow community members.