Ruru Wang ’09
Promoting Global Health
Hometowns: San Francisco, California and Sydney, Australia
Major: Biological Sciences
Minor: Culture, Heath, and Science (Five College Certificate)
During her first year at Mount Holyoke, Ruru Wang `09 developed a strong interest in public health, particularly in health care delivery and health care systems. Then came a chance meeting with Erika Power `07, the first MHC student to intern in Ghana with Unite for Sight, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving eye health and eliminating preventable blindness. “Their clinics provide care to some of the world's most impoverished areas,” Wang said. “The internship struck me as the perfect opportunity to gain hands-on experience in public health.”
Wang contacted the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives about applying for the position. Seven months later, she was flying to Accra to meet up with the Unite for Sight team at the Eye Clinic of the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Then, for 13 weeks, she worked alongside local doctors and nurses in rural communities where residents had little—or no—access to health care.
“As an intern, I received exposure to the different levels of health care delivery, from basic auxiliary stations in the villages to short-term clinics conducted by foreign medical teams. In my free time, I interviewed hospital health officials, nurses, and patients and their families to listen to their health concerns,” Wang said. “One of the greatest lessons came from witnessing the importance of integration and communication between the various levels of health care, and recognizing the necessity for cultural-consciousness in program planning.”
The internship also offered Wang the chance to learn the local language, Dagbani, and “indulge in delicious Ghanaian food.” Because interns live in a house in a Tamale neighborhood, she had the opportunity to connect with people in the community.
Wang says she quickly learned that to make the most of an internship abroad, you have to approach all experiences with an open heart and open mind. “I gained a new appreciation for my MHC education and the wide perspective it provided me in Ghana. Now I look forward to starting a two-year fellowship in global health at the University of Washington.”