Brinn sees herself as a life-long activist and enjoys using her public speaking skills to help others. She hopes to use the SNF Paideia fellowship to refine her skills as an activist in the communities in which she wants to serve. For the past four years, Brinn has volunteered with the Hazleton Integration Project (a non-profit through which she developed a domestic violence awareness project in high school). Also, Brinn is the co-founder and board member of Penn’s Coalition for Wellness.
“As a student with very interdisciplinary interests, the SNF Paideia Fellows program is perfect in allowing me to find my niche in activism. Specifically, while I plan on majoring in criminology with minors in neuroscience, Health Services Management, as well as Hispanic Studies, I want to employ public speaking and awareness in these endeavors. Whether it be through public health, mental health awareness, or bioethics, the specific coursework, guidance, and project-based nature of SNF Paideia will allow me to serve my community in the fields that interest me most.”
In her time volunteering in high school, she tutored non-native English speakers, organized peaceful protests, and started a local domestic violence awareness project. Her participation in Penn Mock Trial, an activity she has been involved with since high school, piqued her interest in dialogue. This year, Brinn won Best Witness award in College Mock Trial.
Spring semester, 2023, Brinn studies abroad in Santiago, Chile and is taking all of her coursework in Spanish as part of the Harvard CASA Santiago program. Additionally, she was selected by Penn Abroad to be a Global Ambassador and document her experiences on the Penn Abroad website.
Teaching others to express themselves eloquently and be honest, respectful, and engaged, speech clubs equip students to speak passionately about their beliefs and be receptive to others’ opinions. Further, my continued participation in local organizations in Hazleton, PA is at the intersection of cultures, and these integrative practices foster awareness and vulnerability—key components to wellness.
She has been working in the Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine under Dr. Dominic Sisti. The research she has been assisting Dr. Sisti with was written about in Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Through the SNF Paideia Program, Brinn has previously worked as an intern f0r the Master of Public Health Program’s Walk2Wellness Campaign, as well as as a research assistant for Penn’s Emotion, Development, Environment, Neurogenetics (EDEN) Lab in the Department of Psychology