By: Mira Garin
Kyle Fontelera always found himself interested in public health. While pursuing his BS in Neuroscience at UCLA, Kyle joined the student organization Pilipinos for Community Health (PCH) where he helped organize community events across Los Angeles ranging from hypertension screenings to health fairs. “The smiles [from] community members,” he reminisced, “fueled my passion for pursuing a career in public health and improving everyone’s quality of living.” This passion led to his decision to pursue his MPH in Epidemiology at SDSU.
Throughout the last two years, Kyle has taken on a wide variety of opportunities. During his first year, he joined the Center for Human Dynamics in the Mobile Age (HDMA) where he worked with Dr. Ming Tsou to develop proficiency in ArcGIS Pro. The summer before his second year, Kyle began working at the County of San Diego where he not only put his ArcGIS skills to use on the health mapping team, but also helped produce disease instructional packets. As a second year, he began working with incoming MPH students as a teaching assistant for the introductory epidemiology course. “If I were to work on anything, I would be a consultant in movies regarding diseases,” Kyle mulled. “Not only would it be cool to have your work be shown on the big screen, but, most importantly, our work and message reach a wider audience.”
Kyle recommended students build up their support networks. “I’ve always tried to be involved in groups with my friends,” he explained. “We all reached a burnout point and the world didn’t feel like it was ending because we were in it together.”
In reflecting on the value of APIDA Heritage Month, Kyle emphasized the importance of simply the act of recognizing communities that can all too often be overlooked. “APIDAs each have their own story of fighting adversity and finding their belonging in the United States,” he said, “so it’s important to recognize and celebrate their belonging here.”
Check out the APIDA Center for more information.
