Mohamed Elzarka's Learning PortfolioWelcome to my Learning Portfolio! I used this site as a means to document my time in the University of Cincinnati Honors Program, as well as some aspects of my professional development and a few of my personal passions while at university. Here you will find some of my interesting experiences, thoughts, and reflections. I hope you will be able to get to know me better through my portfolio.
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About Me
Hello! My name is Mohamed Elzarka and I am an alumnus of the University of Cincinnati. I graduated in Spring 2017 with a BS in Neurobiology and a self-designed BA in Liberal Arts with a focus on Public Health, as well as a minor in Medical Sciences. At the University of Cincinnati (UC), I was a Cincinnatus Scholar, and a proud part of the University Honors Program. This website is a work product of my time spent in the latter, and aims to detail some of the amazing and transformative experiences that I had as an Honors student.
On campus, I was involved with several student organizations that mirror my passions in several different disciplines. In my third and final year of undergraduate studies, for example, I served as the Grassroots On-Site Work Internship Coordinator for GlobeMed at UC, a non-profit organization dedicated to the issues of health equity and social justice. In this capacity, I organized a global health internship in Mae Sot, Thailand, for four other undergraduate students and myself to work with Social Action for Women -- GlobeMed at UC's NGO partner. I also was a Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow and conducted research on access to mental healthcare services among Cincinnati's different Latino/Latina communities. Both of these involvements reflect my passion for public health, which is also represented in the coursework that I took for my self-designed Liberal Arts degree.
In addition, I have a strong interest in medical research, and worked as an undergraduate student researcher at the UC College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center while a student at UC. As an Undergraduate Research Fellow at the Edith J. Crawley Vision Research Center, I conducted research on stem cell treatments for corneal opacity. In the past I have also worked in CCHMC's Division of Neurology on a seizure-localization project and in the Division of Psychiatry on therapeutic treatment methods for Fragile X Syndrome.
Growing up with a multi-ethnic background and in a community of many different cultures, I have come to appreciate the diversity I find in myself and in my surroundings. As such, I have developed a passion for exploring world culture and experiencing new people, places, and ideas that manifested itself in study abroad trips to Guatemala, Spain, South Africa, Botswana, and France, and an honors seminar on global religion and politics while an undergraduate student. In the time since, I have also spent a year conducting research abroad as a Fulbright Study/Research Grantee to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017-18. Looking forward, I hope to expand upon these opportunities to learn more about and from the many different cultures of the world.
Finally, I am a Bearcat through and through, and absolutely loved the time that I spent at my university. Through the University Honors Program, I was afforded amazing opportunities to explore my interests and passions, and experienced unbelievable growth in just the short while that I was a part of the program. In an effort to give back, I took on the role of an Honors Ambassador, in which I interacted with potential students and provided them with an authentic perspective on the experience of an Honors student at the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, I volunteered as a tour guide for the university, and gave weekly tours to prospective students. As the Executive Director of Mental Health Services for the Undergraduate Student Government, I also worked to improve my university and better tailor it to the needs of students. This included by developing a comprehensive new peer-to-peer support system for mental health in the form of the Mental Health Ambassadors. I believe that through my involvement I was able to make sustainable and impactful differences for my campus community, and I hope to carry the many lessons that I learned along the way into my future career.
On campus, I was involved with several student organizations that mirror my passions in several different disciplines. In my third and final year of undergraduate studies, for example, I served as the Grassroots On-Site Work Internship Coordinator for GlobeMed at UC, a non-profit organization dedicated to the issues of health equity and social justice. In this capacity, I organized a global health internship in Mae Sot, Thailand, for four other undergraduate students and myself to work with Social Action for Women -- GlobeMed at UC's NGO partner. I also was a Taft Undergraduate Senior Research Fellow and conducted research on access to mental healthcare services among Cincinnati's different Latino/Latina communities. Both of these involvements reflect my passion for public health, which is also represented in the coursework that I took for my self-designed Liberal Arts degree.
In addition, I have a strong interest in medical research, and worked as an undergraduate student researcher at the UC College of Medicine and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center while a student at UC. As an Undergraduate Research Fellow at the Edith J. Crawley Vision Research Center, I conducted research on stem cell treatments for corneal opacity. In the past I have also worked in CCHMC's Division of Neurology on a seizure-localization project and in the Division of Psychiatry on therapeutic treatment methods for Fragile X Syndrome.
Growing up with a multi-ethnic background and in a community of many different cultures, I have come to appreciate the diversity I find in myself and in my surroundings. As such, I have developed a passion for exploring world culture and experiencing new people, places, and ideas that manifested itself in study abroad trips to Guatemala, Spain, South Africa, Botswana, and France, and an honors seminar on global religion and politics while an undergraduate student. In the time since, I have also spent a year conducting research abroad as a Fulbright Study/Research Grantee to Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2017-18. Looking forward, I hope to expand upon these opportunities to learn more about and from the many different cultures of the world.
Finally, I am a Bearcat through and through, and absolutely loved the time that I spent at my university. Through the University Honors Program, I was afforded amazing opportunities to explore my interests and passions, and experienced unbelievable growth in just the short while that I was a part of the program. In an effort to give back, I took on the role of an Honors Ambassador, in which I interacted with potential students and provided them with an authentic perspective on the experience of an Honors student at the University of Cincinnati. Additionally, I volunteered as a tour guide for the university, and gave weekly tours to prospective students. As the Executive Director of Mental Health Services for the Undergraduate Student Government, I also worked to improve my university and better tailor it to the needs of students. This included by developing a comprehensive new peer-to-peer support system for mental health in the form of the Mental Health Ambassadors. I believe that through my involvement I was able to make sustainable and impactful differences for my campus community, and I hope to carry the many lessons that I learned along the way into my future career.