On your mark, get set, GO!

Hi, my name is Allyson Westling, and I am a junior Biochemistry major and Global Health Studies minor at Northwestern University. In a few short days, I will be embarking on the adventure of a lifetime! My first stop will be in Stellenbosch, South Africa to study public health at the University of Stellenbosch for three months. The campus is located about 30 miles outside of Cape Town. I will be with approximately 15 other Northwestern Global Health minors, and we will be learning about the history, political institutions, language/culture, and health system of the country. We will also be paired with a health clinic or non-profit (location still TBD) for some hands-on service learning (read: internship). Other than that, I really have no idea what to expect, but am so excited for the incredible opportunities that await!

My second stop will be in the tiny village of Ho, Ghana, located in the SE corner of the country. Thanks to a Northwestern public health fellowship, I will be researching maternal health and nutrition there for two months. As an aside: I just became president of GlobeMed (www.globemed.org/northwestern), a global health student group at Northwestern that is dedicated to promoting global health equity through fundraising and educational initiatives. Our group has had a partnership with the H.O.P.E. Center, which is the public health clinic that I will be working at while I'm in Ghana. One of the future projects is to build a maternity ward for the Center, so I’m hoping my reserach will be useful in better identifying what local women are seeking in maternal health services. With this information, the Center will be able to better tailor the future ward to best fit their patient’s needs. In addition, my new role as president of GobeMed will allow me to continue to develop and expand our relationship with the H.O.P.E. Center. I have a few ideas in mind, and I am looking forward to collaborating with the Center’s nurses to lay the foundation of what promises to be an exciting and productive partnership!

So.. that’s basically my next five+ months in a nutshell. I’ll be periodically using this blog as a way to post information and insights as I experience them. So, join me on my adventure- it promises to be an incredible, transformative experience that I can’t wait to share with you!