I will travel to all the nations of Africa

By:

Nyasia White

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My goal is to visit every country in Africa. I am  not sure how long it will take to accomplish this, but I am hoping that it will get done. I decided this sometime in high school and my passion to accomplish this helped me obtain a spot on my high school’s senior project trip to Ghana. It was  the second nation I had visited, aside from Morocoo. I think my love for the various cutlures of Africa, pushed me to start this journey. I am fascinated by the languages, clothing, cuisines, music and dances that have been created by those in Africa. I am very excited and little nervous about this trip. It is the first time I will be traveling on my own without a group. I booked my own ticket and I will be responsible for making  connecting flights and getting to my destination. Although, it all excites me because this is a new adventure and it is the start of something beautiful and possibly life changing. Each trip that I have taken thus far has left a mark on me. I have learned so much about myself and other’s cultures. The memories I have made are priceless and I look forward to making many more while in Madagascar. It just so happens that I got lucky with the study abroad program I have chosen. I am a nursing student with a desire to work and possibly obtain a degree abroad and I was looking for a program based in health. SIT World Learning happened to have a summer health program that was located on the beautiful island of Madagascar. I have learned that the island has a very different mixture of ethnicities (Malayo-Indonesian , Cotiers (mixed African, Malayo-Indonesian, and Arab ancestry) , French, Indian, Creole, and Comoran) and I am eager to learn more about the various cultures on the island. I am a dancer and am co-president of the first African dance team on my campus. I would love to learn some traditional dances while abraod and bring them back to share with my team. That is one goal I hope to accomplish while over there. 

Nyasia White

Hi! My name is Nyasia White. I currently live in Pennsylvania but I spent the majority of my life growing up in New Jersey. I am a sophomore nursing student at Villanova University who is active in two dance groups and the Villanova gospel choir. As a nursing student with a rigorous and very structured curriculum, it is difficult to study abroad during the semester and nearly impossible to take up a second major or even acquire a minor. In my four years at Villanova, I will not be able to minor in sociocultural anthropology with a concentration in Africana Studies as I would like to or spend a full semester abroad. With that in mind, the SIT summer program, Madagascar: Traditional Medicine and Healthcare, would be a perfect fit for me. It is medical related, located in a country of Africa and is offered during the summer months so it does not interfere with my studies. I was in need of this scholarship because I am deserving of an equal opportunity to study abroad and experience cultures outside my own while enhancing knowledge in my academic field, like students of other majors, without having to suffer from the burden of summer program costs. My goal is to work in underserved areas, nationally and internationally, in order to improve health education and overall health in populations that may not have the best access to proper healthcare. First and foremost, the program in Madagascar will allow me to develop the knowledge needed to think cross-culturally; learning about different health policies and practices will steer me closer to my goal of shaping health politics. Secondly, it will allow me to gain an open-mind to different healthcare practices, allow me to analyze healthcare with a new mindset and gain knowledge that will put me ahead of other students in my class.