Sharon Kulali

2020 Gilman Scholar

Hometown

Nandi Hills, Kenya

Major

Public Health

College

College of Health and Human Sciences / Honors College

 

In the year 2007, a young girl’s world was about to be widened. This six-year-old girl was born and raised in Kenya, in a small town called Nandi Hills. All she knew for certain about the world was that it was a big place. She was familiar with Kenya and the cities where her relatives lived. She was certain that she wanted to work in medicine when she grew up.  This career choice started when her grandmother was ill. It was not a serious illness, but the young girl didn’t like seeing her grandmother not feeling well and she wanted to do something about it. Years later, her family relocated to the United States. That girl is me. As I write this, I am a student at Purdue University majoring in Public Health.

 

I greatly enjoy working with children and want to make a positive impact on the world and people, especially children. For these reasons, I decided to study abroad in Tanzania.

 

The study abroad trip to Tanzania will include teaching in local schools, immersing in Tanzanian culture, and learning about the history, language, and education of its people while working with elementary and secondary school children. Through past experiences, including tutoring elementary-age children and working at an art camp, I saw how children have a creative way of looking at the world. As a future medical professional working with children, my duties will include educating patients on proper healthcare and communicating the plan of treatment. Teaching children math and science in Swahili will help me bridge the gap between medical terminology and common language.

 

I plan to embrace challenges such as language differences while experiencing a place other than the US and Kenya. To overcome the challenges, I will keep an open mind because it is important for me to know that this experience will be a learning process for me as well.

 

The little girl who only knew of her home country, Kenya, and vaguely about other countries is now more knowledgeable about the vast majority of them. I want to visit as many countries as possible and learn about their unique cultures that differentiate them but still allow us to unite as a whole human race.