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As Public Health major and Anthropology minor on the pre-medical tract, I keep myself very busy both academically and in the local community.  I am a student at the University of Arkansas, home of the Razorbacks and Calling the Hogs.  I am honored and grateful to be the recipient of the University of Arkansas Honors College Fellowship and the Arkansas Governor’s Distinguished Scholarship.

Within the college community, I am a research assistant at the University of Arkansas Mechanobiology and Soft Materials Lab where I culture brain cells, seed cells from frozen samples, and ensure proper propagation of these cells by changing media regularly.  Because of this laboratory experience, this semester I will begin my Honors Thesis on the effects of traumatic brain injury on the blood brain barrier and the specific gene S100B.  I am a founding member and officer of a new chapter of the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children (FIMRC).  Our chapter specifically works to raise funds for dengue nets in El Salvador and clinical supplies in India. We are also proud to be sending four members abroad this Spring Break for volunteering at an FIMRC worksite.

Within the local community, I volunteer weekly for Life Source as a tutor for the Kid’s Life Afterschool Program, which provides free childcare and tutoring to children who would otherwise be left at home alone.  Furthermore, I tutor two days a week for an 8^th grader with mild autism.  I find tutoring to be an incredibly fulfilling and rewarding experience.

Next Fall, I am excited to be studying abroad with the School for International Training’s (SIT) International Honors Program/Comparative: Health and Community Program. During this program, I will compare diverse healthcare systems and examine cultural, economic, and political influences on health in San Francisco, USA; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Johannesburg, South Africa; and Hanoi, Vietnam. 

As a Public Health major on the pre-medical tract, participating in the Health and Community Program will contribute to my overall academic experience by expanding my understanding of different cultures, key to the implementation and integration of healthcare systems. The program will broaden my horizons as both a student and a future healthcare provider by allowing me to gain collaborative skills and study external effects on health.

Because I have not been exposed to health care systems outside of America, the SIT program will provide me with relevant experiences to broaden my comprehension of medicine in  developing nations and give me the opportunity to collaborate with healthcare providers, other students, and international faculty. These experiences and exposure to the myriad of health problems affecting each community will deepen my understanding and perspective of people and healthcare, increase my knowledge of public health on a global spectrum, and stimulate my mind to focus on creating solutions to these issues.

The Honorsociety.org Study Abroad Scholarship will assist with funding this program, and I am so grateful to be chosen for this scholarship.