In the News

As part of fall 2023 Cameron School of Business courses, UST-Houston global marketing students served as effective small business consultants to entrepreneurs in Honduras. Under the leadership and management of Assistant Prof. Dr. Cassandra Ditt, the students partnered with Global Business Brigades, an international movement of university students and professionals “building economic opportunities in remote, rural and under-resourced areas of Honduras and Ghana.”

In fact, “no” isn’t a word the 17-year-old second-year BME student uses very much at all.

Savi Agarwal is a master of time management. When she graduates in Fall 2023, she’ll have earned a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering and minors in international business, language, and culture and health and medical sciences — and she’ll have done so in only 2.5 years.

Between classes, she’s been involved with several pre-medical student organizations, volunteered at local clinics and hospitals, and done medical research. And as if there wasn’t enough on her plate, Agarwal is the founder of Medical Brigades, a Georgia Tech student organization dedicated to providing medical care to underserved communities.

Senior Grant Viscardis has been selected as the Student Leader of the Month for October 2023. Originally from Hot Springs, Viscardis came to the U of A to study biology.

He is the president for EMPOWER RSO, leads the Global Brigades to Panama as the medical chairman, volunteers at the Full Circle Food Pantry, a Patient Care Technician at CHI St. Vincent Hospital in Hot Springs and is a research assistant in assistant professor Joisah Leong’s FullStackNeuro Lab addressing the causation of substance use and early life stress on the mesolimbic pathway in the brain.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — In their time at Penn State, Schreyer Scholars Lia Gerboc and Emmanuel Kraft have taken on numerous leadership roles that benefit the community. In recognition of their efforts, they have been selected as recipients of Schreyer Honors College’s Future Leaders Scholarship for the 2023-24 academic year.

Damian Hernandez, a senior pursuing a double major in biochemistry and forensic science at FGCU, has dedicated his college career to being of service to underprivileged communities.

As a freshman, he joined FGCU’s chapter of Global Medical Brigades: an international movement of students and medical professionals who work alongside local communities and staff to implement sustainable health systems.

Residents in the Northern region, particularly those from deprived communities, are to benefit from a free medical screening for glaucoma.

Glaucoma is a disease that affects the nerves of the eye, which can lead to permanent blindness.

The symptoms of glaucoma are not always immediately noticeable, so it is important to get regular eye exams.

Ghana is ranked number one in Africa and number two in the world for glaucoma prevalence.

To help raise awareness of the importance of early detection and treatment, GBO Ghana, a non-governmental organization, is offering free glaucoma screenings in the Northern region.

WVU Global Medical and Dental Brigades are now accepting applications for their spring break 2024 brigade to rural Honduras. Applications are due on Friday, September 15th.

Global Brigades will actively be recruiting during the first four weeks of the fall semester. For more information on Global Brigades, please plan to attend an information session on Thursday, September 7th at 6:00 PM in G20 Ming-Hsieh Hall.

Health refers to more than the absence of disease according to the World Health Organization, which describes it as including physical, mental, and social wellbeing. The organization also lists it as a fundamental right for each person. This encompasses all social classes and applies to the global population at large.

A quick look into developing countries, however, reveals that providing medical care is not a simple task. In regions that suffer from unreliable water resources, a short supply of medical services, and malnutrition, it can be difficult for populations to obtain and maintain good health.

Working with Community Bank, Chicken Farm and Artisans, Students Gain New Perspectives

Business major Corey Perez gained a new perspective on life while visiting a chicken farm in Panama this summer.
Perez and nine other Manning School of Business students traveled to the Central American country for a weeklong service-learning trip run by Global Brigades, a nonprofit health and sustainable development organization that provides volunteer opportunities for college students.

Want to travel to Greece? Meet the trio behind Greece’s top family travel company, Kids Love Greece: Katerina Makatouni, Maria Giannouli and Maria Tsigoni, who have been friends since they were kids. They grew up together on Crete, the largest island in Greece, and now they have kids themselves.