From the president
Sanya Dhama, a second year in Pitzer College’s BA/DO Medical Program, is a leader driven by her passion for health equity with a commitment to her community. She engages in dialogue with local health organizations, inquiring about the needs of populations to inform medical practices. However, during clinics and presentations to the community, she found a bombardment of information on prevention against illness and issues that was matched by a disproportionately small amount of support for people to advocate for themselves in such incidents. She worked to draft, pitch, mobilize, and ultimately pass AB-2683 to increase localized training and resources for survivors of incidences of sexual violence and sexual harassment (SVSH) on college campuses. She went on to lead marches and open public forums regarding violence against women and girls with LA’s UN Women chapter. On campus, she presented on SVSH as a public health concern during a health symposium and is currently collaborating with the Title IX office and students to bring forth disability, LGBTQ+, and racial/ethnic minority inclusive resources. She is working to develop and pilot a high school health curriculum addendum focused on vaccinations to further empower students to make informed decisions and pursue wellbeing.
Personal Statement
With my deep commitment to policy, public health, and protecting my community, I aspire to foster trust within medical and health institutions and empowerment within oneself to better themselves and their communities. In speaking to California Democrats’ Black Caucus on vaccine distrust and health autonomy in youth and helping organize town halls on long-haul COVID-19 in Black communities, I learned the value of connecting with communities and meeting people where they are at. In understanding schools as nonpartisan entities reaching all students and the educational, income, and partisan divides in childhood vaccination attitudes, I hope to leverage education to promote health empowerment and safety through leading a task force of stakeholders to create a field-tested vaccination curriculum. In seeing a rise in overdoses and lacing, I work to promote fentanyl tests and NARCAN information and training with students and national organizations alongside resident offices on campus. In acknowledging the high rates of SVSH incidences in colleges, I collaborate with students and the Title IX office to understand how to better resources for survivors with intersectional identities. In the end, it is about connecting with others to learn, leverage, work, and collaborate to identify and overcome challenges facing our interconnected community.