Meet Our Scholars

Desiree Rangel is a public health student who returned to finish college when the pandemic started. As a first-generation student, it took her time to go back to school and know what she wanted to achieve. In May 2020, she joined a student coalition called the Coronavirus Visualization Team to combat health disinformation online. She went on to intern for BroadStreet Health, tracking daily COVID-19 numbers in the United States and detecting health disparities in patient care. Desiree has a passion for pedestrian safety as she believes the most vulnerable in our communities have the right to commute safely. Desiree is a strong advocate for protesting and became a certified legal observer with the ACLU to aid protestors in the event that they experienced unlawful behavior by law enforcement. Desiree's academic goals involve completing a bachelor's of public health and pursuing a master's of public health in biostatistics. Once finished, Desiree wants to become an advocate for other first-generation Latinx students by mentoring the next generation of STEM innovators.