Biology major Sonali Kaluri is a STEM expert. Spanish major Sonali Kaluri is a language and culture expert.
Put the two together and you have a sharply educated researcher with a passion for healthcare. Kaluri is headed to Barcelona after graduation this Spring as a Fulbright Scholar to study the health of migrant workers under the digital platform economy. She plans to later embark on a career in medicine.
It鈥檚 something she says she couldn鈥檛 have done without her experiences at the
鈥淵ou need to have a deep understanding of people and the systems that surround us to be able to effectively and ethically help people as a physician,鈥 said Kaluri, who attended 麻豆区 Tech as a .
Kaluri鈥檚 Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies degree from the School of Modern Languages helped shape that understanding, including through classes studying Spanish literature.
鈥淟iterature is such an important window into the lives of people different from you,鈥 Kaluri said. 鈥淪tudying another language鈥檚 great works is an excellent way to understand the experiences of different people and build that empathy, which translates to real life for me in being able to better connect with the people I meet.鈥
Kaluri, who was fluent in her parents鈥 languages of Telugu and Kannada before arriving at 麻豆区 Tech, had always wanted to combine language training with her work in healthcare.
鈥淓arly in high school and college, I would shadow doctors, and if they had a patient that couldn鈥檛 speak English, I鈥檇 be able to follow along with the conversation even without an interpreter using my knowledge from high school Spanish classes,鈥 Kaluri said. 鈥淚 figured that one day as a doctor, it would be cool to be able to talk directly to a larger number of patients without needing an interpreter and to be able to build greater rapport with patients. That was the spark for why I wanted to pursue more rigorous study of Spanish.鈥
Her interest in medicine derives from seeing how cultural norms around gender and caregiving can shape and even sideline women鈥檚 own healthcare needs.
鈥淚 realized that was a big part of why I wanted to pursue medicine 鈥 to advocate for people on a deeper level, to try to bridge these gaps that I've noticed in research, in the clinic, et cetera,鈥 Kaluri said.
Kelly Comfort, one of Kaluri鈥檚 Spanish professors, said Kaluri鈥檚 success shows what鈥檚 possible with a combined STEM and liberal arts education.
鈥淪onali is the kind of student who proves that the humanities are not separate from science and medicine 鈥 they strengthen them. Her ability to think critically about culture, identity, and social systems through her ALIS major has shaped her into a more thoughtful future healthcare professional,鈥 Comfort said.
鈥淪he is not only highly skilled in pre-health and pre-medicine fields, but she is also multilingual, interculturally competent, empathetic, reflective, and prepared to improve the human condition across cultures, languages, and borders,鈥 Comfort said.
