This was my first week of starting my project. I feel like I had a slow start, but I think I did the steps necessary for the time being. In order to make the most out of my project, I need to do a large amount of research about COVID, I need to be caught up with everything. It was a lot of sitting around on my computer, which was the most challenging part for me because I can’t stay concentrated on an article for a large period of time, but I did learn a lot so it was worth it. The most significant progress is that I have an official contact in a hospital in Tijuana who has agreed to work with me. This is Dr. Irma Sanchez form Hospital Infantil de las Californias. The changes I will be making is to be more patient with the articles I am reading because some of them use medical vocabulary so it makes comprehending more challenging. My plan moving forward is to create a go fund me so I can start receiving donations. A personal high for me is that I have committed to UC Berkeley, and a low has been that I have been struggling with not being able to see my friends.
This is one of the articles I read this week which impacted me the most since the number of cases in the US are increasing really fast.
This is my personal highlight of the week. I was able to dogsit a. family friends dog, merlot (one on the right side).
Week 2: 05/04-05/08
My goal for this week was to continue my research on COVID and to start researching about people who have done similar donations. I want to make sure I make this as successful as I can so I am able to help the most amount of people, which is why I want to focus on looking for examples. Most of the examples I found have been from large organizations like UNICEF and The San Diego Foundation until I found one from Mexicali which is another border city in Baja California. This was a great find for me and I even reached out to the person leading it for some tips. A struggle I’m facing is communication, I have to organize myself with many different groups and people so I need to be really clear in every step I do. Something I want to change for next week is to reach out for help more, I think in order for the drive to be successful I need to ask for help when I need it. My plan moving forward is to finish up the go fund me and start publicizing it. A personal high from this week was taking my dog to Starbucks to get a puppuccino because. he went crazy and they also took a. polaroid of him, and a low was that I keep on getting memories from a year ago when I was in Barcelona.
This is a picture of my sisters dog I love watching her eat puppucinos because the cup. gets stuck in her face.
Week 3: 05/11-05/15
This week my main focus was to create my go fund me and start sharing on social media, which is what I was able to complete this week. The most valuable information I discovered from this week’s research is due to the lack of professional equipment in Mexico, many border cities including San Diego have high cases of COVID-19. The way this happens is because there are many U.S citizens living in Mexico they are able to access medical insurance in both countries and prefer to go to the U.S. due to the lack of supplies in Mexico. A struggle I faced this week was communicating with the doctor I’m working with because she has been working many more hours than usual and also has to take care of her family, so she doesn’t have a lot of time to talk to me. Some changes I am making for next week is to start organizing my ideas of what materials I need to get and need to figure out how I’m going to organize the drive with the least amount of risk for the people around me. A. personal high for me was doing a small road trip with. my family to Julian, a low would be that I feel like i'm pushing. myself away from my friends.
This is the introduction I added on the go fund me I wanted to make sure I did it in English and Spanish in order to reach more people.
This is a picture my sister and I took in Julian.
Week 4: 05/18-05/22
There are two weeks until the end of senior project which means its officially crunch time. I have raised almost 900 dollars so far and my goal was 1,000, although I am excited and proud of this I need to make sure it goes to the right places which is why I need to finalize my budget. Dr. Irma Sanchez has been really helpful throughout the process. She has told me exactly what they need which is mostly masks and gloves and different options of brands/ places they usually get their materials from. The most significant thing I learned from this week’s research is that there is currently such a lack of basic supplies in hospitals that some doctors have to use expired gloves and some even need to share face masks. A struggle I’m currently facing is ways to make the most out of the budget, I didn't realize how difficult it was to not only make an organized budget but also take advantage of every penny you have. Something I want to change is having a negative mindset I have been getting overwhelmed easily with everything happen and I need to stop letting my feelings get the best of me. My goal for next week is to go over the budget with Dr. Sanchez and once she approves I will start buying the materials necessary. A personal high for me was that I went to Otay Lakes and saw some ducks and they were following me, a personal low was that I was very overwhelmed this week and I don't thing I managed it .
This is the excel sheet I was working on with Dr. Sanchez in order to fulfill the hospitals main needs.
These cute ducks were following me around the lake and I really wanted to take one home and cried when my mom said I couldnt.
Week 5: 05/25-05/28
This week was the most chaotic but the one with the biggest outcome. I finally completed the drive. This week I didn't want to focus on articles online and everything I learned was from my visit to the hospital. Something really interesting I learned is that almost all hospitals are funded by the government so medicine becomes very political. For example, I was speaking with one of the doctors and she explained that at the beginning of the pandemic the government has trying to hide the reality of COVID cases so they had to diagnose patients with Hypothermia instead of COVID-19. The struggle I faced this week was trying to manage the stress of my final product. I wanted to make the most out of the situation and I think i put too much pressure on myself for it to be perfect. Something I would have changed about my project would’ve been finding more ways to fundraise, many people are struggling financially so I felt really guilty about asking for money. A personal high for me was going to the secret La. Jolla. swing and I just felt like a main character, a low was that it finally hit me that i'm leaving San Diego in a few months and it made me really. sad.
This is what my car looked like after purchasing some of the donations.
This is one of the pictures I took in La Jolla. It was a bit scary to get on but I was so proud of myself for doing it.