Above: Yasmiere Burke in Uganda
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When Yasmiere Burke ‘27 arrived in rural Uganda this summer, something ignited in her. She felt it immediately.
Her purpose came into focus, her worldview shifted, and the excitement of finding what she loved powered her to make the most of the research experience. It not only changed her life, it confirmed that she was on the right career path.
“It’s neat to see the connections. I talked to people and they told me their stories and their needs,” she said. “This was my first time working with qualitative research. I think it was amazing to see how stories could cultivate research. Public health, in that way, is one of my favorite sciences.”
Burke traveled to Uganda as part of a cohort from the Global Health Experiential Fellowship, an international organization that brings students from all over the world together to conduct health research. Burke’s topic: the male perspective on family planning in Uganda’s rural areas.
In Uganda, unplanned pregnancies are very common. Sixty four percent of pregnancies among women ages 15-49 between 2015 and 2019 were reported as being unintended.
Burke’s mission was to interview healthcare professionals about available family planning resources and community knowledge and stigma. By doing so, she learned about thought processes and cultural traditions and was able to use the responses to create interventions.
The work demonstrated to her in real time the difference she can make and the impact her research can have on a community.
“It showed me what I really value in an organization and the ethos behind my research,” she said. “I realized that I want to create something that’s sustainable and long lasting. I want to help contribute as much as I can. My view of the world is different. I value different things now. It clearly has realigned my priorities.”
Burke grew up in Newport News and is a Community Captain, which means she is part of a CNU college-prepatory program that offers early admission to local high students. She originally planned to attend a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), but she couldn’t refuse the financial aid and admission package Christopher Newport offered. She became a Captain, and has not looked back.
Going to Uganda is one of many life-changing experiences she has embraced while at Christopher Newport, each one helping to solidify her goal of being a changemaker in the health field.
“I feel such gratitude and responsibility for what I can do in the realm of giving back and doing better,” she said.
Burke is deeply involved in research at CNU. She works in a lab on campus that is studying the effects of hormones on learning and memory using rodent models. She is also researching the connection between menopause and neuro-degenerative disorders. She has presented her findings at national and international conferences.
For a long time, Burke has known that she wanted to study something related to STEM and health. Her father died of cancer when she was 11, and she made a promise to herself then to pursue a health-related career that would help people.
Initially, Burke wanted to major in psychology. But then she was introduced to subject after subject that captivated her: neuroscience, epidemiology, computer science and biology. She wanted to do it all. And interdisciplinary studies, which allows students to design their own plans of study, provided an avenue to make that happen.
“CNU gave me the option to cultivate what I was looking for,” she said. “Not a lot of schools offer that.”
She has interned for local politicians, coached AAU Volleyball, and even hosts CNU’s “On the Lawn” podcast. Christopher Newport has provided her with countless opportunities on and off campus, including being a STEM intern, volunteering in the oncology department at Riverside Regional Medical Center, and belonging to the Virginia Medical Reserve Corps. In addition, she is an ambassador for the Office of Research and Creative Activity (ORCA).
“I take every opportunity,” she said.
The combination of all of her experiences, punctuated by her Ugandan experience, has brought into focus her passion for helping others and her desire to make the world a better place. CNU, she said, has provided her with not only a well-rounded education and unique perspective, but a foundation of support and possibility.
“CNU has continued to prove itself time and time again. It was clearly the best choice for me,” said Burke, who is considering either graduate school or the Peace Corps as her next endeavor. “I am not the same person who walked onto the Great Lawn that first time, I am a different person. I thank CNU for that.”