Interests
I am a very lucky to say that I have thoroughly lived my life to the fullest and though there are many more things to come, the interests I’ve acquired over time and the experiences such interests have led me to have , have shaped who I am today.
Exploration and Learning
From exploring new technologies and advances in health, I have a keen eye for such that affect patients directly and ethically. Having worked in healthcare for most of my professional life, I have encountered situations where I’ve had to question the individual, the corporation and even myself. I find that keeping myself informed by attending conferences and following speakers that research these topics enhances my development. I have a great interest in reading articles and attending or listening to talks that revolve around ethics and technological advances.
Related Articles:
Ethical Issues in the Use of Health IT
Social Media to the Rescue
When I first moved to Philadelphia, PA in 2011, I knew no one. I had no friends, no family and no acquaintances. I literally, rented a room from a couple that I met over Craigslist. It was a a huge risk for me to come here with only my work to keep me going. Prior to my move, my social circle had been small but fulfilling, but the emptiness I encountered in those first months, and the 80+ hour work weeks I put in to compensate, were counterproductive.
It was then that I was introduced to Meetup.com. This social events website opened so many doors for me in Philadelphia. It took the stigma away from going to happy hour by yourself. I took up board gaming and found I had a knack for strategic thinking. Nothing like Pandemic, Settlers of Catan and some Dungeons and Dragons to stimulate your imagination and make you think ‘outside the box’!
Here we are testing pilot game CopyCat at the World Boardgaming Championships Convention in Lancaster, PA
Thanks to sites like Meetup.com, I made lasting friends that I went to board games conventions with and even traveled to Italy and Ireland! This site and what it had to offer influenced and changed my life so drastically that it pushed me to look at social websites and how they affect the public with an entirely different perspective. How can I build a site or app that has such an impact on someone’s life? What are the skills that I need and what are the skills that I currently have to make that happen? The answers to these questions are still evolving and it’s what brought me to join the MIS program at Temple University.
Staying Active and Passionate
Prior to 2014, I led a sedentary life; truly sedentary. Although I enjoyed my work, there was minimal physical activity to be done and I was never much of a gym goer. Thanks to a life changing health scare, I opted for gastric bypass surgery and -250 pounds later, I emerged an active and energetic individual! I became an active member of the Spartan community and completed my very first Trifecta in 2015. That is I completed a Sprint, Super and Beast race all in once calendar year!
An image of the 2017 three Finisher badges coming together to form the Trifecta badge!
The first step to my Trifecta! Spartan Sprint was completed in the summer of 2015, on the treacherous Blue Mountain in The Poconos, PA
Around December of 2015, I was introduced to the Latin dance community in Philadelphia. I embraced my roots and took to dance like a fish to water. Two years later, I’ve performed professionally choreographed Bachata routines with the Daniel & Desiree World Team Project – Philadelphia Chapter Ladies and Co-ed Teams at various congresses and venues in the East coast. Recently, I joined the Albasario Dance Company and am currently working on perfecting my Salsa On2 technique. While there, I’ve joined the Performance Challenge team and the Beginner/Intermediate Performance teams as well.
D&D WTP-Philadelphia Team Picture at the D.C. Bachata Congress 2016. From left: Joe Figueroa (Director), Matt Rudomin, Alexandra Volpe, Vanessa Marin, Relando Xavier, and Sharonne Vinokurov (Director).
My interests are vast, but each experience has shaped me into the woman and professional I am today. Healthcare has made me aware of the needs of patients and that protecting patient rights, as well as the companies that provide their services, is something I’d like to one day be able to influence. Meetup.com impacted my life so greatly and in such a positive way that it led me to pursue a career in the development of media or technology that can have a similar impact on the rest of the world. Board-games brought lifelong friends and an insight into my thought and problem-solving process. Spartan racing taught me the power of perseverance and the amazing obstacles that I never believed I was capable of overcoming. Dance opened me up creatively and empowered me to express myself in new ways, without limitations. My interests do not lie alone in technology, better yet, my life experience has only made me see the different impacts that technology has across different fields, pursuits and areas!