Jennifer Villalobos-Saenz has taken her interest in health and medicine along with her bilingual background and empathy for others to help people in her community, her neighborhood, as well as other students at Mt. Vernon HS.
Jenny’s experience as a member of the Fairfax County Health Department’s Public Youth Ambassador Program helped inspire her love of medicine, and she advocates for health literacy and health issues in her community. She studied high blood pressure in low-income neighborhoods and has presented this information to local community members. She also became aware of the field of social determinants in medicine. Social determinants focus on how social, gender or environmental factors may influence someone’s health. “It’s easy to say, ‘exercise is good for you,’” Jenny said, “but if someone doesn’t feel safe jogging in their neighborhood, it doesn’t help them.”
Jenny also got inspiration to pursue a medical career from an internship at the National Institutes of Health. “Something I learned there was how valuable experiences such as these can help someone determine if a medical career is a right fit for them,” she said. And her NIH experience inspired her to co-found the Medical Majors Club at Mt. Vernon HS for students interested in the medical field.
She volunteered in the Mt. Vernon HS blood drive partnership with Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, informing students of the significance of donating blood and encouraging her peers to donate blood. Jenny also volunteers at the Red Cross, where she has assisted and cleaned up after patient donations. She has also learned how to assist with administering IVs.
Growing up she gained a strong appreciation of the challenges of language barriers and education. Leveraging her bilingual background, Jenny tutors elementary and middle school students in her neighborhood. Through her encouragement, she motivates them and helps them to better believe in themselves. “I was once tutoring a young boy in math,” she said. “It became apparent within minutes that the boy had no issue with math as a concept. So rather than instructing, I just listened and empathized to discover that what he really needed was encouragement and validation to get better grades.”
The importance of empathy was taught and firmly encouraged by Jenny’s parents. “No matter how people behave, I think it’s important to make sure my first response is to listen, not judge,” Jenny said. “I strongly believe that you never know what struggles or personal challenges folks are facing, something I became acutely aware of with my friends who didn’t have access to the resources some of us take for granted. You never know when you will need someone or when they will need you.”
Jenny plans to attend Johns Hopkins University studying medicine and she has already been researching college clubs that focus on health outreach. “I think we can attain peace through knowledge,” she said. “The more people know, the more they can help and be helped.”