Here is Tatenda in her own words! Just one more example of the amazing young women our Class of 1978 Scholarship Fund is able to support!
I am a sophomore from Zimbabwe and I am a Neuroscience Major and a Culture, Health and Science Minor. I applied to Smith because my mentor happened to be a Smith alum. I still look up to her and admire the strong-willed, successful woman she is. I am convinced that Smith College contributed a great deal to who she has become. Looking back at the two years I have been here at Smith, I am amazed at my personal development thus far. Here I have the opportunity to learn with great insight, the courage to question aspects of my world and the power to effect change in some way. Not many Zimbabwean women are given such a luxury. I wish to use this education I am receiving to open up doors to a career in medicine and to be a public health advocate for women’s health in my country.
I come from a society with a debilitating health care system. The economically disadvantaged people are denied their right to adequate medical care because the system has been weakened and corrupted by a stifling political climate. In 2006, after my family had failed to pay the full co-payment amount, I watched helplessly as my aunt passed away in a public hospital waiting room, right in front of the doctors and nurses. I was angry, shaken and confused. I could not understand how professionals who took an oath to serve, would do absolutely nothing for a critically ill patient. I could not understand the lack of accountability and responsibility for human life. It is from this dark episode of my life that I felt a strong calling to medicine and public health.
Smith College is giving me the valuable tools I need to become a successful healthcare professional. From the rigorous curriculum, to the thought-provoking discussions in and out of class, to the empowering leadership programs, I know I am being prepared extremely well. And I am excited!
Over the summer I will be participating in the Smith Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. My research is on axon-glial interactions in the zebrafish forebrain. I will also be a teaching assistant and mentor in the Smith Summer Science and Engineering Program for High School girls. I will also volunteer at the Clinton Health Access Initiative in Harare, Zimbabwe for the last month of the summer.
Tatendra also attended our class dinner at Reunion. See pictures from that event here. http://smith78.blogspot.com/2013/05/reunion-update-may-25th-2013.html
Tatendra also attended our class dinner at Reunion. See pictures from that event here. http://smith78.blogspot.com/2013/05/reunion-update-may-25th-2013.html
