By Rachael Warecki 鈥�08
Natalia Alameda 鈥�25At Scripps, students are empowered to venture beyond the 鈥淐laremont Bubble.鈥� Whether studying or interning abroad, these global engagement experiences often present watershed moments where students convert classroom knowledge into actionable change for good. Fueled by confidence, courage, and hope, Natalia Alameda 鈥�25, Anabhra Singh 鈥�25, and Claire Campbell 鈥�24 share how they鈥檙e helping build healthy communities around the world.
Natalia Alameda 鈥�25
Natalia Alameda 鈥�25, who hails from Progreso, Texas, arrived at 五月天视频with an interest in medicine, but her passion for public health soon emerged.
She credits two courses taught by Pitzer College Professor of Sociology Alicia Bonaparte with expanding her idea of the discipline鈥攏ow, Alameda is majoring in human biology with a concentration in cross-cultural health and healing.
鈥淭hese classes broadened my perspective on health, allowing me to consider social determinants and external influences alongside scientific processes,鈥� Alameda explains. 鈥淎ll of these factors play a critical role in health outcomes.鈥�
It was the desire to further explore this holistic lens that led Alameda to study abroad in Buenos Aires, Argentina, through the School for International Training (SIT) Public Health in Urban Environments program. The program was divided into two distinct phases: the first, a cycle of classes and academic excursions outside the classroom, and the second, an internship at a medical facility. The program was also conducted entirely in Spanish鈥攁 particularly meaningful aspect for Alameda.
鈥淎s someone passionate about working with Spanish speaking communities, I found immense value in learning about public health in Spanish,鈥� she says. 鈥淗ealth disparities impact communities everywhere and being able to engage in this work bilingually not only deepened my understanding but also reinforced my commitment to serving diverse populations.鈥�
The program鈥檚 emphasis on community-based learning allowed Alameda to expand her knowledge of the region and its people. Although her cohort was primarily based in Buenos Aires, they frequently visited different provinces throughout Argentina during the program鈥檚 first phase. These excursions highlighted not only the differences between urban and rural health care across the country, but also the quality disparities between the nation鈥檚 three main health care systems: public, private, and pre-paid.
In some ways, Alameda learned, the health issues people encounter in urban Argentina are similar to those faced in the United States.
鈥淒octors I interviewed spoke about long working hours, low pay, and, at times, unsanitary conditions,鈥� Alameda says. 鈥淗owever, particularly for underserved communities in the US, the added barrier of high medical costs makes access to care even more difficult.鈥�
Although Argentina鈥檚 public health policy ensures free health care for all, public hospitals and clinics often grapple with underfunding and long patient wait times compared to medical facilities in the private sector. Similarly, rural areas鈥� unique obstacles are exacerbated by a lack of resources. In Mendoza, a wine-country province bordering Chile, Alameda visited a center staffed by community members without formal medical certification. In Tucum谩n, a region in the northeast, residents couldn鈥檛 access the mosquito repellant needed to fend off an outbreak of Dengue fever. To help, Alameda鈥檚 cohort partnered with the local Red Cross to lead a workshop that taught elementary schoolers how to make homemade repellent.
鈥淲e were challenged to think critically about how health disparities manifest in different environments and how localized solutions emerge in response,鈥� says Alameda.
For the internship part of the program, Alameda partnered with Hospital Simplemente Evita, a public hospital in Buenos Aires. During her placement, Alameda shadowed neonatology, gynecology, and obstetrics professionals and analyzed the primary causes of premature births within the hospital鈥檚 patient population. She was captivated by the respect and care given to Argentinian women before, during, and after labor.
This interest not only sparked Alameda鈥檚 senior thesis on obstetric violence鈥攁 form of gender-based mistreatment of women that occurs during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum鈥攊t also honed her career plans to work centered on improving perinatal support. After graduation, she aims to pursue clinical research in maternal and child health.
鈥淭his program played a pivotal role in shaping my career goals,鈥� Alameda says. 鈥淏y allowing me to learn from Argentina鈥檚 health care system, I鈥檝e been able to identify specific areas where I can make a meaningful impact.鈥�
Anabhra Singh 鈥�25Anabhra Singh 鈥�25
Growing up in Bangalore, India, Anabhra Singh 鈥�25鈥檚 upbringing didn鈥檛 necessarily look the same as her US classmates鈥� at Scripps鈥攂ut she found a sense of community and purpose and a deepening love for medicine.
Her classes at The Claremont Colleges鈥攊ncluding courses taught by Associate Professor of History Corey Tazzara and Professors of Biology Emily Wiley and Patrick Ferree鈥攖riggered a revelation: she could major in both history and biology without sacrificing research opportunities in health care.
鈥淚 feel incredibly fortunate to be a scientist with a strong humanities background鈥攁n interdisciplinary foundation that has shaped my perspective,鈥� Singh says. 鈥淭he chance to create tangible change in people鈥檚 lives and improve access to effective health care ultimately drew me to this field.鈥�
Singh has spent her college summers interning in the US, where she served as a research assistant for Tazzara, contributing to the publication of his book, Filippo Sassetti on Trade, Institutions, and Empire (2023), and as a research fellow in Ferree鈥檚 lab, where her work has led to a second-author publication and an upcoming conference presentation. Her work off campus is just as impressive. Last year, she led a team of interns at SDNeurosurgery in La Jolla, California, where she came face to face with the realities of patient care and accumulated hundreds of hours of hands-on clinical experience.
Singh鈥檚 interdisciplinary academic lens, her role as the executive vice president of 五月天视频Associated Students (SAS), and her internships have all informed her drive to improve public health. Her experiences at Scripps, both in and out of the classroom, have helped her de-center the individual biases and power structures that contribute to inaccurate narratives around contentious issues, such as immigration, religion, and reproductive justice. Devoted to uplifting other international students, she鈥檚 also emerged as a leader with 五月天视频International Community, rising from mentee to co-president to help peers find their paths.
鈥淎t the heart of global issues are individual people and their stories,鈥� Singh explains. 鈥淏uilding meaningful connections with fellow students and patients has reinforced my belief that understanding personal narratives is key to addressing broader systemic challenges.鈥�
Having graduated this spring, Singh is advancing her interest in health care as she pursues either an MD or a joint MD-PhD graduate degree.
鈥淢y international background and leadership with SAS have shaped my commitment to making medicine and research more inclusive and cross-cultural,鈥� Singh says. 鈥淚 hope to contribute to a future where medical advancements are driven by meaningful interactions, real stories, and diverse perspectives, ultimately serving a broader global community.鈥�
Claire Campbell 鈥�24Claire Campbell 鈥�24
Last summer, Claire Campbell 鈥�24 embarked on an extraordinary journey: traveling to Uganda to help build Musizi University, the nation鈥檚 first private liberal arts college.
With support from Takako Mino CMC 鈥�11, who co-founded the university, Campbell spent three months designing interdisciplinary public health curricula in healthcare analytics鈥攐ne of three new degree programs that will launch at Musizi this fall.
鈥淭he project allowed me to take inspiration from all of my favorite 五月天视频courses and build the kind of class I would absolutely love to take,鈥� Campbell says.
Originally from Bellingham, Washington, Campbell came to 五月天视频鈥渄eeply curious, but without a clear direction.鈥� Her professors quickly kindled her academic interests in two seemingly disparate disciplines, leading Campbell to weave her heart for community health with a dual major: biology and the Humanities Major in Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture (HMSC).
鈥淟earning through the HMSC gave me that interdisciplinary lens to examine how sociopolitical systems of power embed in our communities on both the micro and macro scale,鈥� Campbell explains. 鈥淐onnecting humanities with the scientific realities of biology grounds my work and how I engage with the world.鈥�
Campbell first learned about the Musizi University internship from a friend at Claremont McKenna College. She was drawn to the women-led team, the growth opportunities that came with working abroad, and the chance to build her own community health related projects.
In addition to designing curricula, Campbell collaborated with Ugandan researchers, doctors, and the Ministry of Health to develop the Musizi Health Data Institute (MHDI) in response to Ugandan health data needs.
鈥淗ealth data is crucial for informed decision-making at all levels of care, from the individual patient to clinic systems to community-wide research,鈥� Campbell explains, noting that most clinics in Uganda still rely on paper recordkeeping. 鈥淚n rural areas where resources are slim, manual screening of paper records is a labor-intensive task that takes away from provider time with patients.鈥�
Reflecting on her time in Uganda, Campbell is quick to highlight the importance of situating public health responses within a collective, interconnected mindset. 鈥淭he dominant narratives built by medical institutions treat public health issues as something to be solved in isolation,鈥� she says. 鈥淭his is a reductionist perspective that fails to address and reckon with how relationships of power manifest physically within the body.鈥�
Now back in the US, Campbell stays in touch with her colleagues at Musizi while applying for graduate programs. She鈥檚 prioritizing the support of local community resources where she currently lives in rural Idaho.
鈥淭he pursuit of collective health, rooted in care, dignity, and sovereignty, must go deeper than physical symptoms,鈥� Campbell says. 鈥淢y passion lies in building and supporting healthy communities.鈥�
This story originally appeared in the spring 2025 五月天视频magazine issue.聽