The goal of the project is to connect adults who might not have access to preventive medical care to routine vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control, including those against hepatitis B, HPV, measles, mumps, rubella and COVID-19. Through community clinics, the team is aiming to vaccinate 520 people, focusing on uninsured adults who identify as Hispanic/Latinx or are from historically underserved populations living in underserved neighborhoods throughout Providence.

“At our pop-up clinics, we offer free vaccines as well as information about the services offered by Clínica Esperanza,” Smith said. “The clinics are a great way to reach people where they’re at.”

As communications outreach lead, Smith designed educational handouts and implemented a text message campaign to educate Clínica Esperanza patients about vaccine facts and myths. She’s also been reaching out to community organizations in Olneyville and South Providence to find sites for the vaccination events, including libraries, churches and women’s shelters.

Smith, who grew up in East Greenwich, didn’t expect her path to lead her back to Rhode Island after college, but said she appreciates the many opportunities at Brown to get involved with local health organizations. During the school year, Smith volunteered as a medical interpreter at Clínica Esperanza, which has a partnership with Brown’s School of Public Health and Warren Alpert Medical School. Her internship is financially supported by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island, and her project’s leader is a former Brown faculty member and Clínica Esperanza co-founder, Dr. Annie De Groot, who is now the clinic’s volunteer medical director.

Smith has been an eager student on health education tactics. After learning that social media isn’t always the best way to reach potential clinic attendees, she teamed up with a librarian at Knight Memorial Library to walk along Elmwood Avenue, sharing information about vaccinations with people at a daycare, church, grocery store and gas stations.

“We’re hoping that people will share health information with their family members and social networks," Smith said. "Then we’ll start seeing people at some of the recurring clinics, and we’ll be able to build trust, increasing their engagement with our services.”

Each pop-up clinic also offers lessons in logistics. The team has learned they needed to bring more ice packs wrapped in plastic bags to prevent them from leaking on the cardboard boxes containing supplies. Smith said she’s also finding ways to make paperwork less onerous for people stopping by the table.

And with every conversation, Smith said she’s learning how to better connect. At a recent event, she met a patient eager to talk to her about his vaccine worries.

“I think he needed to process the reasons behind why he didn't want to get vaccinated,” she said. “He eventually realized that he was actually open to the idea, and he ended up getting a vaccine. While some of these conversations around health care can be a bit uncomfortable, I’ve seen that there’s real value in having them.”

Smith is applying to medical school with the goal of becoming a physician. But through her summer project, she’s found a way to combine her passion for research with community and personal interaction.

“The engaging nature of my work, with its elements of both research and practice, has confirmed my interest in medicine, but has also confirmed my interest in continuing on with public health research,” she said.