User:Sarah.heberlig

Sarah Heberlig
Sarah Heberlig
Born	December 2, 1992 (age 32); USA
Nationality	American
	This user is a student or alumnus of Rice University. Go Owls!
	My sandbox

Sarah Heberlig is a graduating Senior at Rice University who is currently taking the SWGS 322, Human Development in Global and Local Communities course with Dr. Anne Chao this Spring semester.

About Me

Hi, my name is Sarah I am in my final semester at Rice University. I am double majoring in Kinesiology and Policy Studies, and with an engineering minor in Global Health Technologies. My motivation for taking this SWGS 322 course comes from my interests in the theory of structural violence and the relationship between healthcare policies and social inequity. Structural violence is the systematic way in which social structures harm or otherwise disadvantage individuals. My passion to address structural violence and healthcare inequity, particularly in under-served populations, first came about when I read the book Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder. The book examines Dr. Paul Farmer, a well-known medical anthropologist, and his work in Haiti. Dr. Farmer stands out to me because of his philosophy that better healthcare for all cannot be achieved simply through a top-down policy approach. Instead he advocates that there is a need to be cognizant of the multi-level structural barriers existent within society that prevent the underprivileged from receiving better access to healthcare. Additionally, he believes in the importance of addressing health disparity through a grassroots-oriented socio-cultural lens, as it allows one to be more in touch with the actual challenges that the underprivileged face. Ever since having read the book, I began to adopt his ideals as my mantra; I have made it my goal to help address medical structural disparities.

All in all, I am excited and looking forward to contributing to Wikipedia as part of my course work in the SWGS 322 Course!