By Vivian Nguyen
As a rising junior, I was disappointed to hear that my fall semester was supposed to be completely virtual. A premedical student who was hoping to stay active and involved in my community, I was disappointed that most of my volunteering opportunities, shadowing experiences, and research were going to all either be cancelled or be completely online. I wanted to serve my community as well as pursue my passions simultaneously. Something I have been interested in since freshman year is getting involved politically. As someone who is very passionate about protecting the environment as well as being an ally and advocate for marginalized communities and groups, I was stumped on how I can combine my interest in medicine to advocacy work.
I reached out to Dr. Vi Nguyen before my fall semester, hoping for a shadowing opportunity. Dr. Nguyen was my uncle’s friend, and I was hoping to learn more about being a pediatrician and what it means to be a physician. Unfortunately due to COVID, I could not shadow Dr. Nguyen, but I got something even better out of our conversation: I got a chance to combine my passion for environmental justice and medicine through an internship with the American Academy of Pediatricians Climate Change and Health committee. Starting off, I felt a little bit nervous with my new role, but I was excited at the same time. Dr. Nguyen asked me to keep track of the roster of physicians and the activities of our new group the San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air as well as to create a logo.
Our first big project was to advocate for the hiring of environmental justice staff at ACPD with the Mothers Out Front advocacy group. We had a common goal in working on clean air issues and were ecstatic to work together. Through the next week, I collected testimonials from various physicians that were a part of SDPCA and put together a video montage advocating for the hiring of environmental justice staff and why it was important to us that we protect our environment and pass legislation for clean air. This was an important project for me because it showed me that nobody’s voice is insignificant and that we can all make a difference in our government as well as in the world.
Clean air is a human right and something we need for future generations. We need to protect our environment for the future of this planet and for the future of the human race. As someone who is part of the younger generation, there is a lot at stake for me and my future. I know that we must take a strong stance and pass environmental protection legislation soon or else we will soon approach the point of no return when it comes to climate change and the emission of greenhouse gases. I want to protect not only my generation but the generations after mine — I want them to grow up being able to breathe clean air and enjoy this basic human right. It is important that we recognize the detrimental health effects of pollution and climate change disproportionately affect marginalized communities and poor communities. The effects of pollution on lung health and the development of asthma are heartbreaking, especially when we see these effects in children. We must protect our environment — for our own sake and for the children who live in areas without clean air. Through San Diego Pediatricians for Clean Air, I have been able to combine my passion for advocacy and interest in environmental justice with my career goals of becoming a physician. It has been such a rewarding and meaningful experience to be able to impact my community in such a positive way and to be able to make a change, even if I am just another college junior who is hoping to make a difference in the world.
