May 27, 2024
Deeyana Desronvil ’24 will travel globally and serve locally before studying dentistry
By Michael Hagan ’15, ’19G
College life brought Deeyana Desronvil ’24 of Brockton, Massachusetts, several significant “firsts,” such as the first time living away from home and first introductions to many new concepts in the classroom.
As she counted down the weeks leading to graduation from Providence College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in health policy and management, Desronvil started noticing significant “lasts.”
The last time gathering around a seminar table with classmates. Her final tour as a member of Friars Club, the college’s oldest service organization. Even hanging out in McPhail’s, the campus pub, on one more evening where study slowly gave way to socializing — it was all bittersweet.
Desronvil’s education equipped her with the concepts and methods needed to analyze, contextualize, and navigate the healthcare system in which she aspires to a career. Eager to complement her studies in health policy and management with knowledge from the natural sciences, she minored in biology. It was a rewarding challenge that concluded with an exam in anatomy on the last day of her final semester — rigorous to the end, and another noteworthy “last” of her undergraduate years.
Studies of healthcare and science complemented each other; study of social and economic contexts complemented both. Her course on racial health disparities with Aishah Scott, Ph.D., assistant professor of health sciences and of Black studies, explored the ways that intersecting inequities contribute to comparatively poor health outcomes for people of color.
In studying disparities, Desronvil and classmates were assigned to design a public health campaign to bring nutritious food to food deserts — areas with limited access to nutritional choices. As they used their student IDs to freely explore Providence via Rhode Island public transit, they observed that certain stops on bus lines were central and visible public places in neighborhoods they were targeting. They identified these as ideal distribution points in their proposal.
Some of Desronvil’s best discussions took place in Slavin Center, whether in the Board of Multicultural Student Affairs office, around tables in McPhail’s, or in the Friars Club office, where members would come and go between classes and campus tours.
“We’d talk a lot about the impact of social media on our lives and culture. We’d talk about current events. We’d talk about psychology, feminism, public health, and other topics we were studying,” Desronvil said.
More recently, they talked about the future.
“We will not let these conversations end or friendships become distant just because of graduation,” Desronvil said. “We have an active group chat and we’ve promised to FaceTime once a week. We send a lot of voice memos, which I know we’ll appreciate even more when we’re not seeing each other every day.”
Desronvil also was a member of Motherland Dance Club and the Pre-Dental Society. She worked frequently with the Division of Marketing and Communications, supporting photography sessions and the development of the college’s “For Those Who Seek” brand.
Desronvil plans to apply to dental school. In the meantime, she will work in medical sales and marketing, volunteer in her hometown, and seek opportunities to learn from and professionally shadow dental and other health professionals. Service has always been a part her life. At PC, she was an adult literacy tutor and educated nearby primary school students about dental health. In Brockton, she interned for two years with Pinnacle Partnerships, a mental health advocacy organization.
But first, she’ll celebrate. After savoring her last days on campus and last hurrahs with her friends at their favorite bowling alley and downtown karaoke bar, and with a celebratory meal at The Abbey near campus, Desronvil departs for an ambitious trip around Europe — an adventure to celebrate the one she has completed and the new adventure beginning.
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