Major: Health Sciences
Major: English
Minor: Medical Humanities

For Alyssa Cahoy, the Health Sciences major is a way to put her passion for community health promotion into practice. She says, “Now, after over a year in the [Kinesiology] department, I can say that things really fell into place, and I have a clearer sense of what I want to do in the future.” Most recently, Alyssa traveled to Atlanta and conducted summer research with the Morehouse School of Medicine Prevention Research Center as a student in the CDC Undergraduate Public Health Scholars (CUPS) program. Her research informed a larger implementation science project funded by the CDC that aims to enact HIV/AIDS prevention services at historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other minority-serving institutions in Georgia. She deeply appreciates her mentors, Dr. Rhonda Holliday and Samantha Martin, for guiding her research every step of the way, from teaching her how to code qualitative data to helping her apply for her first conference. 

At the conclusion of her CUPS internship, Alyssa presented her research findings at the 2022 CUPS-Ferguson Research Showcase and Expo. She was one of two students in a cohort of 48 who were granted the Morehouse College Project Imhotep Public Health Leadership Award for “living and breathing public health.” She says she owes so much to Project Imhotep for immersing her in a community of public health professionals who will always be in her corner. As a continuation of her work in Atlanta, Alyssa will be stepping into an ambassador position for the Morehouse College Public Health Sciences Institute to connect with CUPS alumni and prospective students. 

Being in the Kinesiology Department has ensured Alyssa close proximity to opportunities in the Texas Medical Center. As an intern for the MD Anderson Cancer Center Department of Health Disparities and Center for Community-Engaged Translational Research, Alyssa helped analyze findings from a community-based participatory research study on engaging Houston’s five largest Asian-American communities (Vietnamese, Indian, Chinese, Filipino, and Pakistani) to better understand perceptions of cancer risk. “Having gotten to contribute as an author on the final manuscript, I am now more mindful of what it looks like to partner with community members in all aspects of the research process,” Alyssa says. As a Filipino immigrant herself, Alyssa wishes to improve diasporic populations’ engagement in critical health services and preventive behaviors. 

Alyssa is also actively involved with activities on campus. Currently, Alyssa is a consultant at the Center for Academic and Professional Communication (CAPC), Head Academic Fellow for Sid Richardson College, student ambassador for the Medical Humanities department, and a volunteer at the Women’s Resource Center. For her efforts to build campus community, Alyssa was chosen as a recipient of a Doerr Institute Leadership Award. While Alyssa has served in various leadership capacities, she says she has learned through trial and error to prioritize rest. She found that intentionally taking time to recharge has allowed for more depth in her commitments without burnout. To unwind, she enjoys taking photos at college events on her Canon DSLR, reading lyrical poetry in an anthology her mom gifted her, watching Asian dramas, and going on boba and coffee runs with friends.

Going into her final year of undergraduate studies, Alyssa is one of 25 rising seniors selected to participate in the Rice Undergraduate Scholars Program (RUSP), for which she will receive funding for her honors thesis. With Dr. Cassandra Diep as her faculty advisor, Alyssa will be culturally adapting and piloting a mental health curriculum in collaboration with the non-profit organization Mental Health for Every Adolescent (MHEA) and schools in the Houston area. Alyssa will also be considering options for graduate school in the upcoming year. 

Reflecting on the challenges and joys her time so far at Rice has brought, Alyssa says, “My Applied Biostatistics instructor in the CUPS program, Dr. Michael Joseph, told our cohort about a kind of silly, but profound saying— ‘If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know it had some help.’ I think of myself as that turtle because I could not have accomplished anything without the generous support I’ve received.” Alyssa expresses her gratitude to Dr. Diep for being an outstanding teacher who advocates for her students, as well as to her family for reminding her, “Kaya mo yan!”