Michael Deng’s relationship to public health has been defined by his call to serve others in his community. While taking care of a senior for two years, working at a special needs ministry, and riding along with Emergency Medical Technicians, Michael noticed issues with healthcare that deeply affected the quality of care for patients. Even after Michael finished volunteering with these organizations, the sterile and pale environment of the senior home, the continued stigmatization of neurodiverse individuals, and the small moments of dehumanization that patients experienced in the back of the ambulance all stayed with him.
At the same time that Michael was building expertise in the public healthcare space, he was excelling as a musician. As a viola player with the California All-State High School Symphony Orchestra and co-principal of the California Youth Symphony Senior Orchestra, Michael learned how the unifying power of the arts can connect, inspire, and uplift audiences. He brings his commitment to working with others and implementing different perspectives to his influential work in entrepreneurship-focused competitions.
At the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA) competition, Michael worked with a team of peers to construct a multifaceted plan that would help solve the healthcare labor shortage for Kaiser Permanente after the pandemic, improving the quality of care for thousands of patients by incentivizing young students to enter into the healthcare industry. Impressed by his team’s innovation and creativity, the judges awarded him with the first place prize in the California state competition. His competitive success continued with the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (GYEC), where Michael’s team proposed creating a magnetic braille tablet that allowed blind and deaf children to connect with normally sighted/hearing children and an educational platform that eliminated stereotyping between cultures. Notably, his team placed first in the United States and tenth globally.
His empathy for vulnerable communities extends past his unique ability to succeed in his musical and competitive endeavors. At his high school, Michael co-founded and leads the Pre-Med Club as its president, where he spreads awareness of diseases and healthcare concerns to his classmates. He is currently pursuing his American Red Cross cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) instructor certification in hopes that he can teach his club members CPR.
Michael will continue to leverage both artistic expression and direct healthcare interventions to build stronger, more equitable communities in the future. He is in the middle of developing a nonprofit that expands resource accessibility for low-income elementary schools to present at the Stanford Neurodiversity Summit 2025 and plans on studying a public-health related topic in college. As a future pediatrician or surgeon, Michael is looking forward to dedicating his career to revolutionizing the healthcare systems with his musical and entrepreneurial prowess.
Written in partnership with Tom White
