Introducing the Executive Board
Payal Gokaldas
President
Hi everyone! My name is Payal and I am the President of MAPS! I am a senior majoring in Neuroscience. I am also the outgoing Secretary for MAPS, which is why some of you may recognize my face (or name) from the events and all the emails sent out last year. I do research in the Department of Psychology on cognition with a focus on language and bilingualism. I joined (and re-joined!) MAPS because as an international student in the United States, I came to quickly realize how pathways are closed off to certain people because of factors outside of their control. For the first time in our lifetimes, we are all having first-hand experience on how minority communities are more often than not the hardest hit, both locally and internationally. I hope that with your help, we can play a part to achieve our vision to ensure equal opportunity and diversify the healthcare field to reflect its population. I look forward to seeing all of you at our events this semester!
Pritika Sharma
Vice President
Hi everyone! My name is Pritika Sharma, and I am the Vice President of MAPS. I am a sophomore at UIC Honors College, majoring in Neuroscience on the Pre-Medicine track. My career goal is to become a physician with a specialty in either Neurology or Neurosurgery. I am currently researching Alzheimer's Disease at the UIC College of Medicine. I also volunteer at UI Health in the Surgical Department and shadow many physicians in different specialties. I joined MAPS because I am very passionate to help minority pre-med students get the resources and guidance they need to achieve their dream of becoming a physician. In my free time, I love to dance and sing, and watch classic romantic comedies :) I can’t wait to see the future for MAPS and hope to see you all at our events this year!
Adedoyin Dada
Treasurer
My name is Adedoyin Dada (Doyin) and I am the Treasurer for MAPS. I am a junior majoring Biological Sciences. I perform research on Alzheimer's Disease at the College of Medicine. I joined MAPS to enlighten other Pre-Medical students on how they can have a smoother and more comfortable undergraduate career while being at UIC. I feel have valuable experiences that can aid others and look forward to the upcoming year!
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Rochelle Adade
Secretary
Hey! My name is Rochelle Adade and I am the Secretary of MAPS. I am currently a Pre-PA senior at UIC majoring in Sociology minoring in Biology. My career goal is to become a Pediatric Physician Assistant because I love the idea of working with children and attending to their needs. On the side, I love listening to music, reading science articles, and meeting new people. I joined MAPS because it is a great way to connect with other minorities who have the same goals as you. As minorities, we are needed now more than ever in the healthcare field. Coming to our events and participating will build that confidence that is needed to do so. I hope to see you soon:)
Ruth Covarrubias
Event Coordinator
Hello everyone! My name is Ruth Covarrubias and I am the event coordinator for MAPS. I am a junior at UIC, majoring in Biological Sciences and minoring in Spanish. I have been interning as a research assistant at Stroger in the ED for a little over a year now where I help contribute to ongoing clinical studies. My overall career goal is to become an Emergency Medicine physician. I look forward to meeting you guys at our events!
Fun fact: I swam competitively for 10 years and now I coach in the summer and swim for fun!
Travis Brones
SNMA Liason
Hey, I'm Travis Brones, the Student National Medical Association Liasion for the UIC Minority Association of Pre-Med Students. This is my third and final year at UIC as an Applied Psychology major. I currently do Alzheimer's Disease Research at the UIC College of Medicine and am a Peer Mentor for UIC Campus Housing. My favorite class I've taken at UIC is probably Biology Colloquium (BIOS 196) — the games, field trips, and guest lecturers are phenomenal in that class. My favorite "hobby" is staying active and involved in the UIC community by going to events and making new friends. I can't wait to see you on campus and hope to help facilitate a fabulous experience for you!
Ritu Parikh
Fundraising Chair
HI! My name is Ritu Parikh and I'm a junior in the Honors College majoring in Neuroscience with a minor in Sociology. I am the Fundraising Chair for MAPS and I'm incredibly passionate about advocating for healthcare justice in the US. You can catch me studying in any warm crook, often surrounded by piles of used mugs. I love sociology and highly recommend taking any sociology course you find interesting--a ton of them cover gen-eds! I'm a lover of kitschy movies, finding new books, and stockpiling tiny samples "just in case." I see us laughing a lot, working hard, and accomplishing all of our goals as future healthcare workers, as students, and as people.
Maxson Joseph
Historian/Public Relations
Hello everyone! My name’s Maxson Joseph and I’m the new Historian and Public Relations Officer for UIC MAPS. I’m a senior majoring in Psychology and minoring in Biology and I am working towards a career in mental health. Hobbies definitely have to include food, soccer, music, scrolling through IG and Twitter amongst others. I’m also a member of Delta Epsilon Mu which is a fraternity for Pre-Health students (Pre-med, Pre-dent, Pre-psych, Pre-PA etc). I’m very excited for this position and getting to interact with our members through our various social media platforms!!