From maternal health in rural India to environmental justice in Southern California, UCGHI Student Ambassadors are applying their skills to address the world’s most pressing health challenges. As the summer begins, these students are charting paths shaped by personal experience, global awareness, and a commitment to health equity.

We interviewed three current UCGHI Student Ambassadors—each at a different stage of their academic journey at the University of California—about what this summer holds and how their time with UCGHI as Student Ambassadors has shaped their career aspirations.

Alexa Zelaya (UC Riverside)
UCGHI Student Ambassador, 2024–2025 Cohort
Postgraduate Research Associate, Yale School of Medicine

After graduating from UC Riverside with a degree in Psychology, Alexa Zelaya is moving across the country to begin a Postgraduate Research Associate position at the Yale Child Study Center Affective Youth Lab (YAY), under the direction of Dr. Wan-Ling Tseng. Her research will examine the neurobiological effects of pollution on child irritability—work that aligns with her long-term interest in the environmental determinants of mental health.

“UCGHI really shaped the way I think about community-oriented research,” she says. “I wanted a position that emphasized relationships with participants, not just data collection.”

In the future, Alexa plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology, focusing on the impact of environmental injustice on marginalized communities, particularly children living in areas chronically exposed to air pollution. “This role is the perfect next step,” she adds. “It combines research with real-world impact.”

Richa Kondapally (UC San Diego)
UCGHI Student Ambassador, 2024–2025 Cohort

Richa, a sophomore global health major at UC San Diego with plans to minor in general biology, is still navigating her future—torn between pre-med and pre-law, STEM and the humanities. But her experiences are shaping a clear trajectory: one grounded in service, storytelling, and health equity.

Last summer, Richa spent a month in rural Telangana, India, participating in a service-learning experience at an Anganwadi center—a government-affiliated maternal health site. She shadowed administrators, observed care delivery, and led informal sessions with children enrolled in the SNEHA (Safety, Nutrition, Empowerment, and Health for Adolescents) pilot project, designed to reduce adolescent dropout rates. “It was eye-opening,” she says. “I saw firsthand the resource gaps and policy failures—but also the power of local women leading in healthcare.” Though brief, the experience deepened her understanding of the structural forces that shape health access.

This summer, she’ll be staying closer to home in the Bay Area, supporting her grandparents and working on a memoir that reflects on her own complex health journey, including a teenage diagnosis of ovarian teratoma. “Writing helps me process the intersection of identity, health, and access,” she says.

Through UCGHI’s Student Ambassador program, Richa has connected with peers and professionals across the University of California. “I used to think global health meant going abroad. But UCGHI showed me it’s multidisciplinary—and it starts with your own community.”

Baljot Chahal (UC Irvine)
Graduate Student in Environmental Health; Tobacco Researcher
UCGHI Lead Student Ambassador 2024–2025, Student Ambassador 2020-2021

As Baljot prepares to graduate with a Master in Public Health from UC Irvine, Baljot Chahal is applying to jobs while continuing her role in tobacco-related disease research, focused on the density of smoke shops in Southeast Los Angeles. Her work experience and interests combine community-based research, youth advocacy, and policy goals—exactly the kind of impact she hopes to scale in a long-term career.

“Just because we’re talking about global health doesn’t mean it has to be in a different country,” Baljot says. “Issues like pollution, access to healthcare, and cancer rates are local and global at the same time.”

Originally introduced to UCGHI while an undergraduate at UC Santa Barbara, she is now a Lead UCGHI Student Ambassador—mentoring Student Ambassadors, co-organizing webinars, and helping design strategies to engage more students across US campuses. “It [UCGHI] changed my life,” she says. “UCGHI taught me that health equity is as much about systems and culture as it is about biology.”

From India to New Haven to Los Angeles, these global health student leaders represent the breadth and depth of what local and global health can look like in action—personal, political, and deeply grounded in community.

Stay connected with UCGHI for more stories from UCGHI Student Ambassador Alumni shaping the future of global health in California and globally.