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Welcome to the IHC Alumni Association
Alumni Stories
Alumni Rachael Wong:
"I became involved with IHC when I started participating at the clinics in Tijuana and San Juanico. Interacting with these patients who have a completely different culture and lifestyle than I do, challenged my limited understanding of other cultures. I later served as the Director of Local Action in order to interact closely with the communities of San Diego and Mexico. I loved working with the passionate individuals in IHC and those in the communities. IHC gave me the opportunities to learn from people coming from different backgrounds and I find it especially rewarding to share ideas and exchange perspectives!"
Alumni Amy Coba:
"I served IHC as the Clinic Director from 2017-2019. I was in charge of organizing monthly clinics held in Tijuana, Mexico. It was my responsibility to recruit volunteers which included medical professionals, Spanish interpreters and student volunteers. My favorite IHC memory was teaching IHC members how to take vital signs and introducing optometry into the clinic. I became involved in IHC because I wanted to be part of their mission and volunteer my Spanish and EMT skills. I loved the organization and wanted to serve on the leadership team.
IHC has greatly affected my life today. My time at IHC has helped me develop leadership, communication and organizational skills. The most important lesson I learned from IHC is when you give you receive more. The skills I have gained from IHC have helped me become the leader I am today as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Space Force.
The picture is of me with the optometrist Dr. Klein and staff I brought from Total Vision Care Optometry to perform vision tests and give out glasses prescriptions at the clinic in Tijuana."
Alumni Javier Flores:
"During my time in IHC, I primarily served as Vice President and eventually President. My responsibilities involved maintaining our 501(c)(3) status in addition to training and educating our volunteers and Board Members on our organizational structure, mission, and clinic procedures and workflow.
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The experience I had while in IHC was invaluable. I learned how to navigate and manage multiple complex systems in addition to the advanced time management skills that I was required to develop. From the very first time I volunteered at one of our clinics, I fell in love with the community. Being of Mexican descent I felt very connected to the communities IHC serves and wanted to help contribute to the betterment of their health.
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I was involved with IHC for many years and it was truly just a phenomenal experience for me. I couldn’t pick one memory as my favorite but I can honestly say my favorite thing was always meeting and talking with the community. There was always tremendous enthusiasm when we would have workshops or sessions where we would share information. This only reinforced my belief that all people truly do love to learn and grow. So much can be achieved if we focus more on sharing information and on how it is conveyed, received, and used versus trying to assess if someone truly “knows” something. We are always growing and we should all embrace that in ourselves."
Alumni Ashley Du:
"My main roles were: Vice President 2018-2019, Administrative Director 2017-2018. My favorite IHC memory was definitely all of the San Juanico trips!
With such a wonderful group of people, it was easy to become passionate about IHC. I have never met a more inspiring, truly kind-hearted group of students and faculty who do medicine for such pure reasons. It is easy to tell how much everyone cares about our patients and their community.
IHC taught me to really consider thinking about the socioeconomic factors that each patient is linked to. Even now when I see a patient and they present with a symptom, I am always thinking about how their housing, living, transportation, or food access situation may have contributed to their illness. How can I help this patient, besides just prescribing something? As a future provider, I will try to not only cure the symptoms of my patients but also help them heal, in a way that IHC has taught me to do."
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