William A. Darity Sr. Graduate Scholarship
Jazmine Chan, Health Promotion and Policy
Jazmine Chan is a rising third year PhD student in the Community Health Education program in the Department of Health Promotion and Policy. Jazmine is interested in refugee health, looking particularly at how PTSD and trauma affect the management of chronic diseases. Her research interests stem from her role as a caregiver to her Khmer Rouge refugee parents. She hopes that through her work health care systems will be more aware of how to address the needs of refugees. Jazmine aims to do community-based participatory research so that the voices of the community are being prioritized.
I want to introduce myself as the recipient of The William A. Darity Sr. Graduate Scholarship and thank you for making this scholarship possible for me. I have just completed my second year of the PhD program in Community Health Education and will be moving onto my comprehensive exams in the Fall. My research interests include looking at PTSD, trauma, and the management of chronic diseases in refugees. I am particularly interested in looking at Southeast Asian refugees. My passion for public health and healthy equity works stems from me being a caregiver to my parents at a young age. They are both Khmer Rouge refugees who had me at the age of 44, so I learned very quickly how it was like for them to navigate the health system, their past trauma and health conditions in an environment that did not support it. I was raised in a tight knit Khmer community, and this led me to naturally want to do my best to support the health and well-being of my community.
UMass Amherst has been my home for a long time. I received both my bachelor’s and master’s degrees here. I am grateful for the support I have received from a few of my professors, advisors, and mentors here who took the time to help me mold into the person I am today. Their support and encouragement allowed me to feel like I belonged and was deserving to be in this program. During my time here, I have been able to work as a research assistant for the Center for Community Health Equity Research and on a project looking at adolescent sexual and reproductive health inequities in MA with my advisor. I have done internships with the Lowell Community Health Center working on a diabetes self-management program for Khmer refugees and on a practice transformation team to improve quality measures for Medicaid patients at community health centers. I am excited to see what other adventures I will take on during my time here at UMass.
With your thoughtful support, I can continue in this program and not stress the financial burden as much. It has made my goal more achievable and has taken off some lingering stress around money. I received the news about being the recipient of the scholarship during my dad’s final days of life and I am so honored that my dad was able to hear of the great news before his untimely passing. He was overjoyed and it made me feel good to let him know I am continuing with my purpose with the support from you. I really cannot express how grateful and meaningful this scholarship is to me. Thank you for your generosity to students like me.