Hello Regent Community, my name is Amanda Giordano, and I’m a St. Lucy’s alumna (’22)! I am now pursuing two BS's in Environmental Science and Integrative Biology, as well as a minor in Environmental Studies. I’m also on the pre-med track with plans to apply to medical school post-graduation!
This past summer, I was selected for a fellowship with VAW Global Health Alliances, a non-governmental organization committed to addressing health disparities in developing communities. We work hand-in-hand with local initiatives and leaders to provide rural communities in low- and middle-income countries with improved access to medical treatment, medication, nutritional security, clean water, and health education. We fulfill this goal by organizing medical outreach trips to several host countries, including Panama, Peru, Cambodia, Vietnam, Uzbekistan, and Guatemala, where we set up medical clinics, experience a hands-on work environment, shadow local physicians, and learn about disease diagnosis, treatment courses, clinic operations, and basic pharmacology.
Through my fellowship, I had the privilege of establishing a chapter of VAW Global at Rice and registering it as an official campus organization during the fall. Throughout the semester, I recruited a team of 25 Rice students for our first Medical Outreach Trip to Cusco, Peru this June. This Spring, we will be preparing for the internship through a series of chapter training meetings (i.e. learning about Peruvian healthcare, how to take vitals, clinic operations, etc.). Alongside internship preparation, our trip is unfortunately not free of cost, and each intern is responsible for paying their airfare and program fee costs (roughly $3,000 per intern). Our program fees go toward the necessary costs to treat the patients in Peru (i.e. medications, medical supplies, etc.). As the Team Leader, I have been working to lessen the cost for the interns by launching a series of fundraisers this semester.
I am reaching out to ask for support from my Regent Sisterhood!
We are hosting a Valentine’s Day See’s Candies fundraiser to cover the program fees. We opened an online storefront through the See’s Candies website, and the VAW Global Rice Chapter will receive up to 50% of the profit from chocolate purchased on our storefront page. Our storefront is open until Friday, January 26, as See’s needs roughly 3 weeks to process and ship out the orders in time for Valentine’s Day.
All of your support is appreciated!