Help Jiah Study Public Health in Puerto Rico

I am writing on behalf of my dear friend and roommate Jiah. She is a rising sophomore at Eckerd College in Florida and has the incredible opportunity to study public health in Puerto Rico this winter. She has received the maximum merit aid available from the college and needs $2,500 more to make this opportunity a reality. Jiah has spent the summer finding and applying for additional scholarships, and working full time, but she needs to save the money she made to pay for books and other educational expenses this upcoming school year, as several of her federal grants have been cut over the last several months. Jiah is one of the most dedicated and hard-working students I have ever met. She has been working tirelessly toward her dream of becoming an oncologist, a dream she has held since losing her beloved grandmother to cancer when she was fourteen. Jiah is the eldest of four children being raised by a single mother, and has never had the means or opportunity to travel outside the state of Florida. She has dreamed of participating in Eckerd’s study abroad program, and now she finally has the opportunity to do so. I know no one more deserving of this life-expanding experience.

In Puerto Rico Jiah will learn about the public health challenges faced by its inhabitants and the social, political and environmental factors that affect them. The trip includes visits to various green and blue spaces that positively impact health (El Yunque National Forest and Luquillo Beach), a local farm dedicated to increasing access to healthy food, a low-income health clinic, attendance at presentations by local community health organizations, and ongoing observation of how hurricanes have resulted in infrastructure damage, contaminated water, unsafe housing structures, and lack of access to nutritious food.

This is a unique opportunity that would put Jiah on the ground facing real-world community health challenges, and help shape her passion to serve her community in the field of medicine. She needs $2,500 to cover the cost of the trip left over after scholarships, and her deposit is due at the end of July. Anything you can give to support her in taking part in this once-in-a-lifetime educational experience would mean so much.