Biology and Spanish may seem like opposing disciplines. But for Katey Steinberg, Class of 2016, combining Spanish with a degree in biology is giving her the skills she needs to one day improve the health of those living in underserved communities.

“At Temple, I found myself in real-world situations that instilled in me the desire and the confidence that I could really make a difference in other people’s lives,” she said.

Recognizing Steinberg’s interest in applying her classroom knowledge in real-world situations, Associate Professor of Spanish Patricia Moore-Martinez introduced her to the Puentes de Salud clinic in South Philadelphia, which serves the neighborhood’s rapidly growing Latino immigrant population.

For Steinberg the visit was inspiring.

As a result, she pursued an opportunity to help conduct research that would impact the health of prediabetic Latina women in North Philadelphia. For her position with the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) at the College of Public Health's Center for Obesity Research and Education, Steinberg recruited and met regularly with study participants, seeing them through the process of implementing healthy eating and lifestyle choices, from January through November 2014.

“I was excited to see how happy the women were with the results,” she said. “It really felt like the DPP team made a difference, and I am proud to have been a part of it.”

With her future area of focus starting to crystalize, in May 2014 Steinberg accepted an opportunity to work at a medical clinic in Lima, Peru, with the help of funding from the Science Scholars Program in the College of Science and Technology.

“It was the experience of a lifetime,” she said.

—Erica Brooke Fajge