SOLVING A CRISIS I SAW AS AN EMT
No patient should have to wait to be understood
ASL4Responders is a free learning platform I created to prepare first responders and healthcare professionals with practical ASL and Spanish for the first critical minutes of patient care. Its 125+ short resources follow the clinical encounter—from introductions and pain assessment to procedures and follow-up.
STUDENT-LED. CLINICALLY GROUNDED. BUILT FOR THE MOMENTS BEFORE COMMUNICATION BECOMES URGENT.
125+
Practical Learning Resources
BUILT BY AN EMT • ORGANIZED FOR REAL PATIENT ENCOUNTERS • FROM FIRST CONTACT TO FOLLOW-UP
7
Stages of Patient Care
2
Languages: ASL + Spanish
3
Learning Formats
$0
Cost to Access
EMERGENCY-READY COMMUNICATION
Prepare before the moment becomes urgent.
ASL + SPANISH EDUCATION
Practical language for healthcare contexts.
PATIENT-CENTERED DESIGN
Built around the flow of a real encounter.
MORE INCLUSIVE CARE
Helping more patients feel acknowledged.
THE PATIENT ENCOUNTER, STEP BY STEP
Explore by stage of care
Start with the phrases needed for each part of a patient encounter.
Connect
Introductions and preferred language — What language do you prefer?
Understand
Symptoms, medications, allergies, history — What medications do you take?
Check Vitals
Blood pressure, pulse, oxygen — The cuff will get tight.
Assess Pain
Location, onset, severity — Where does it hurt?
Prepare
Exams, tests, procedures — I will explain first.
Follow Up
Medicine, referrals, questions — What questions do you have?
The Founder
Samika Agarwal
I’m Samika Agarwal, a high school senior at Woodbridge Academy Magnet School, a certified EMT, biomedical researcher, and aspiring hematologist-oncologist. My interest in medicine has developed across ambulances, hospital units, and research projects exploring telomerase dysfunction, cancer vaccines, and disease pathways—experiences that have taught me to view healthcare through both its scientific and human dimensions.
During patient encounters, I saw how quickly a language barrier could affect a person’s comfort, trust, and ability to participate in their care. That realization inspired me to found ASL4Responders, a free platform that organizes practical ASL and Spanish around the stages of a real clinical encounter. Across emergency medicine, research, and community leadership, my goal is to help build healthcare that is more precise, understandable, and responsive to every patient.
Medicine, seen from the bedside, ambulance, and exam room.
MY CLINICAL EXPOSURE
Across hospital units, emergency response, and physician shadowing, I learned how clinical judgment, teamwork, and communication shape every patient encounter.
3 Largest NJ Hospitals
300+ Volunteer Hrs
100+ Shadowing Hrs
50+ Emergency Patients
Hospital Care
JFK Medical Center
Screening & Imaging
Helping patients navigate rooms, screening, and follow-up with clarity.
Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital
Rapid Decision Unit
Supporting observation-unit patients through mobility, supplies, and discharge.
Perth Amboy Medical Center
Emergency Department
Supporting triage flow, repeat vitals, and treatment-room readiness.
Emergency Response
Care begins before the hospital doors
As a certified EMT with the Scotch Plains Rescue Squad, I have responded to 50+ emergency patients—recording vitals, histories, chief complaints, and pain scores to support prehospital care.
The experience that inspired ASL4Responders.
Physician Shadowing
Internal Medicine + Dentistry
Observed clinical reasoning, chronic-disease management, referrals, radiography, and sterile procedural workflows.
Learning not only what clinicians do, but why each decision matters.
MY RESEARCH JOURNEY
From genetic variation to the future of cancer care
My research has progressed from asking how mutations disrupt cellular function to investigating how cancer therapies can become more precise, durable, and patient-centered.
200+
SYMPOSIUM AUDIENCE
4,000+
THESIS WORDS
20+
PRESENTATION
$10k
RAISED FOR CANCER RESEARCH
01 — FOUNDATION / GENETIC MECHANISMS
TERT + TERC Mutations
Used ClinVar, NCBI, and RNAfold to examine how TERT variants impair telomerase activity while TERC variants destabilize RNA folding.
Presented findings to 200+ students and 15+ facultIES
FROM MUTATION → MECHANISM
COMPLETED • FOUNDATION PROJECT
02 — DEEPENING / CANCER IMMUNOLOGY
Cancer Vaccine Research
ONGOING • FINAL ANALYSIS TO BE ADDED
Studying neoantigen T-cell activation. Investigating immune attack resistance
Viral therapy integration
FROM MECHANISM → IMMUNE RESPONSE
03 — INTEGRATION / ONCOLOGY THESIS
Oncology Research + Thesis
IN PROGRESS • THESIS DEFENSE
Connecting hematology and cancer biology through an individualized research paper. Final findings and defense materials to follow.
FROM IMMUNE RESPONSE → DISEASE
04 — NEXT HORIZON / TRANSLATION
Toward Therapeutics
FUTURE DIRECTION
Exploring opportunities to apply genetics and oncology research within pharmaceutical development.
FROM DISEASE → TREATMENT
WHY ONCOLOGY?
The research became personal at the point of care.
At JFK Breast Care Center, supporting patients through screening and imaging follow-up gave every research question a human context: behind each pathway is a patient waiting for clarity.
PATIENT EXPERIENCE→ RESEARCH PURPOSE
RESEARCH LEADERSHIP
Making research more accessible.
As President of the Biocomputational Research Club, Samika teaches source evaluation, literature reviews, BioRender, RNAfold, and MATLAB—and helped organize 20+ student research presentations.
RESEARCH ADVOCACY
Funding the questions that matter
Through Stars for Survivors, Samika transformed survivor stories into a campaign that raised $10K for the American Cancer Society.
MY LEADERSHIP IN ACTION
2,100
Books for Global Literacy
200+
Delegates Hosted
50+
Community Service Initiatives
400+
Students Reached
Leadership that turns representation into action
Across culture, service, and advocacy, I lead by listening first—then building programs that help more people participate.
BELONG
BUILDING BELONGING
Representation should be felt—not simply celebrated
National Honor Society — President
Led STEM tutoring, freshman orientation, and a schoolwide book drive.
Culture & Diversity Club — President
Expanded heritage celebrations and Women’s History Month programming.
Spanish Honor Society — Treasurer-Elect
Tutored Spanish students and led literacy and shelter service projects.
Seal of Biliteracy / Spanish • ASL II / Developing Proficiency
SERVICE THAT SCALES
From one learner to an entire community
Senior Girl Scout
Sustained service across health, culture, and community care.
25+ Projects
SEWA Youth Lead
Led hunger relief, elder care, and environmental service
50+ Initiatives
Kumon Learning Mentor
Tutored Spanish students and led literacy and shelter service projects.
100+ Students
SEWA Service Award • 100+ Hours
SERVE
ADVOCACY WITH A VOICE
ADVOCATE
Model United Nations
Vice President • Conference Host
3× Honorable Delegate
WAMSMUNC: Grew 80 → 200+ Delegates
Holocaust Education Ambassador
Mark Schonwetter Holocaust Education Foundation
Scaled survivor-family testimony to 400+ student assemblies.
HONORS & ACCOLADES
Recognition across medicine—and beyond it.
A diverse portfolio of achievement encompassing clinical innovation, competitive excellence, global diplomacy, scholarly writing, and academic rigor.
MEDICAL + STEM
Healthcare distinction.
DIAMOND CHALLENGE — SEMIFINALIST
Selected from 700+ teams • Healthcare venture addressing hospital readmissions
HOSA MEDICAL COMPETITION HONORS
1ST PLACE — DENTAL SCIENCE • 4TH PLACE — DENTAL TERMINOLOGY • 4TH PLACE — PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE
CLINICAL + TECHNICAL CREDENTIALS
SILICON VALLEY CODING CHALLENGE / TOP 5%
OSHA / 10-HOUR HEALTHCARE CERTIFICATION
AHA / BLS PROVIDER CERTIFIED
ACADEMIC + LEADERSHIP
Achievement beyond the clinic.
MODEL UNITED NATIONS
Princeton Honorable Delegate • Global Citizens Best Delegate
COLLEGE BOARD RECOGNITION
National Recognition Award for academic excellence
MATH LEAGUE
Repeated top school / New Jersey scorer
WRITING + PUBLICATION
Scholastic Honorable Mention • Live Poets Society of NJ
SEAL OF BILITERACY
Advanced proficiency in Spanish and English
ACADEMIC HONOR ROLL
Consistently maintained high honors across all semesters.
CONTINUING EDUCATION
Past and Upcoming Events
Join our practical training sessions designed for first responders. Learn essential ASL and Spanish phrases for critical patient care moments. View details below to register.
Upcoming Events
G100 Webinar: The Story Behind ASL4RespondersFri, Jul 31Zoom
WAMSMUN Model UN ConferenceConducted in December 2025Woodbridge Academy Magnet School
Stars for Survivors American Cancer Society CampaignConducted in December 2024Instagram (Social Media Campaign)
Sandwich Donation Service ProjectConducted in February 2026Woodbridge Academy Magnet School
Book Drive for Schools in GhanaConducted in March 2026Woodbridge Academy Magnet School
Holocaust Remembrance AssemblyConducted in February 2026Woodbridge Academy Magnet School
INSIGHTS & RESOURCES
Latest Blog Posts
Some questions begin in a lab; others begin in a hospital room, a history book, or a community. This blog is where I trace the connections between them and explore what they reveal about health and humanity
LET’S CONNECT
Let’s build care people can understand.
Reach out regarding ASL4Responders, language-access training, or research collaborations.
GET IN TOUCH
Choose a way to connect.
Open to collaborations, speaking engagements, and research inquiries focused on language access in healthcare.
asl4responders@gmail.com
https://www.instagram.com/asl4responders/
YOUTUBE