March 2018
As undergraduate student researchers with the Berkeley Food Institute, Nathalie Munoz and Natalia Semeraro set out to hear the voices of administrative and service staff at University Health Services (UHS). As we began to understand UHS’s array of programs and see their lasting campus impact, we came to realize that, as students, we knew very little beyond our own encounters with the Tang Center. We had the opportunity to speak to key players, many of whom are staff of over 30 years, and our discussions proved to be a rewarding and insightful experience. Every single person we interviewed expressed great passion and love for their job and the people they provide for and work with. It was also meaningful to learn that most staff we spoke with were Cal graduates and come from a background of student activism. Aside from providing direct services at the Tang Center, UHS administration also works to address the campus climate surrounding a variety of health and social issues by listening and responding to the needs and concerns of faculty, staff, and students. One example, which is featured in more than one of the stories, is the seminal role that these folks (and many others) played in collecting the stories of food insecure students, which led to funding for the UC Berkeley Food Pantry and other vital basic needs work on campus. In another interview the narrator speaks to the health assessments done with UC Berkeley staff performing high risk tasks, which highlights how UHS provides services and resources not only to students, but to Cal staff as well.These narratives reveal that our campus is educating and empowering students to go on to become advocates who work to bridge gaps within their own communities and increase equitable access to necessary resources. Through the various interviews, as folks mentioned their coworkers and talked about each other’s work, we began to see how connected all of the staff seem to be. This speaks to the connectivity and positivity that permeates throughout our health services.
University Health Services is in the process of assembling a more diverse healthcare team in order to meet the needs of each individual patient. The narrators speak to the fact that UHS struggles to meet every individual’s needs. While UHS is making great strides in providing holistic care for more of the student and staff population with cooking classes, comprehensive services available when visiting a primary care doctor, drop-in nutrition counseling at designated sites on campus, and nutrition policy recommendations, they emphasized that there is still some work to be done in terms of providing for trans health care and mental health care. Yet each narrator expressed deep motivation to keep learning and providing quality care for all members of the UC Berkeley community.
– Nathalie Munoz and Natalia Semeraro
