Adriana Orellana is a first-generation Latina college student at the University of California, Irvine, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences and is currently pursuing a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Community Health and Health Equity. Her passion for public health stems from working with patients of low socioeconomic status and growing up with family members who have chronic illnesses; she wanted to learn about what she could do to support decreasing health disparities and increasing access to care. As an undergraduate, she joined the HELIOS Lab. In her professional career as a public health researcher, Adriana has worked with the Latine population in Santa Ana and Orange County with research studies focused on patient empowerment, social determinants of health, and health education on chronic illnesses. Her career goal is to become a program manager, overseeing community-based participatory research projects that aim to improve the quality of life for residents and foster trusting relationships for community engagement. Adriana wants to conduct research and programs that are not tied down to a desk but are more involved within the community. She wants to utilize the skills learned from her graduate studies, along with her lived experiences, to improve the health of the communities that are often excluded from opportunities.