Student Spotlight: Shuait Nair
Shuait Nair (SFS'20) is an undergraduate student in the School of Foreign Service.
Tell us about your interest in global health. What inspired you to participate in the Conversations in Global Health course?
I think my interest in global health stems from a broader passion for human rights. One of my core beliefs is that health is a human right. An important first step to being able to corroborate this belief is to understand what health is and the degree to which people all over the world are impacted by health services and emergencies. This is exactly where global health fits into the picture! I was inspired to join the Conversations in Global Health course because of how it offered exposure to a wide range of fields within global health, from reproductive health to infectious diseases to private/public partnerships in health. It is a wonderful survey course to dip your feet into the arena of global health at Georgetown without feeling the pressure of a 3-credit class.
Tell us about other global health events you may have participated in on campus/in D.C.
Unfortunately, I have not attended many global health events on campus or in the D.C. area. I know there is a GlobeMed club at Georgetown, which aims to improve the health of people living throughout the world in poverty. I also know that Georgetown does an excellent job recruiting global health speakers throughout the semester for lectures, so nobody should ever fall short of access to global health events. I do conduct a bit of research on global health here, though! Currently, I am working with Eric Friedman, who is the Global Health Justice Scholar at the Georgetown Law's O'Neill Institute, on a long-term project to develop a refugee/migrant health advocacy toolkit. I also am working with Dr. Claire Standley at the Center for Global Health Science and Security to research the efficacy of health information systems during humanitarian emergencies, which has been really cool!
What activities are you involved with on campus?
On campus, I am a member of Georgetown Emergency Response Medical Service (GERMS). I’m currently in the ropes of driver training, so hopefully I will become a certified driver of our ambulances soon! I am also a trainee for Project Lighthouse, a student organization that runs an anonymous chatline for students who want to voice their concerns about any matter. Finally, I am a member of the 2022 Carroll Fellows class and hope to make my independent research project for the program about refugee and migrant health. For fun, I usually like to do one dance-related thing each semester, whether it be Rangila or Reventon.
What is your favorite part about being at Georgetown?
My favorite part about Georgetown is the campus. So many of the buildings are rich with history (and secrets!), and it’s been a lot of fun getting to explore all of them. It’s also amazing that we are just outside of D.C. Whenever the weather’s nice, I love being able to walk to the monuments and wander around.
Tell us about your educational and professional aspirations.
I think I have three main goals in life: 1) To be a doctor 2) to work with refugee/migrant populations and 3) to live in Germany. I’m still trying to see how I can combine all of these things together, but for now, I’m just focused on surviving sophomore year.