Elena grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. She is a member of the Class of 2018 majoring in African American Studies and also on the pre-medical track. After taking a few of the courses in the department, Elena realized she found the subject material extremely gripping and socially relevant. Though her hometown was racially diverse, she is now seeing the world through a new lens that confronts and grapples with the questions and implications of race and racism. Elena hopes to go to medical school after graduating. She is interested in the intersection of race and medicine and the ways that race is portrayed (if at all) in medical school curriculums. Elena is on the executive board of GlobeMed (a global health related club on campus), a Sexual Harassment/Assault Advising, Resources and Education (SHARE) Peer, in Tropical Clinics for Rural Health (another global health club), volunteers at CONTACT crisis hotline, and has a tutoring job off campus.