Economics and Spanish major Alana Slavin ’16 has received a Fulbright Study/Research grant to pursue graduate study in the Netherlands. She plans to study health care for undocumented immigrants as she pursues a master’s in economics at VU University in Amsterdam.
Slavin is a member of LMU’s Belles Service Organization. She volunteers at a domestic violence shelter. And, noting the connection between economic inequality and health care unavailability, Slavin has worked for years at the Venice Family Clinic, where she screens patients and checks vital signs. She teaches a cooking class and collaborates on a book of affordable healthy recipes. Slavin also became a double major in economics and Spanish so she could better understand policy and her patients.
“It might seem like a random connection for a pre-medicine student,” Slavin says. “But I am really interested in pursuing and understanding the economic determinants of health, particularly for undocumented communities, which tend to be Latino.”
In 2015, Slavin was a Finalist for the prestigious Harry S. Truman Scholarship.
After completing the Fulbright program, Slavin plans to study medicine to more effectively address inequities in healthcare provision in the United States.