I z z y s i l b e r
I am a Global Social Benefit Fellow for the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Click on my "About Me" blog post to learn more about my journey to pursue this Fellowship.
At the ripe age of thirteen, my class of twenty-four students embarked on a trip to Costa Rica with the intentions of working on service projects, science experiments, and to practice our Spanish skills. Boy, was I excited to go to Costa Rica, it felt as though my whole middle school experience was leading up to this trip. But what I didn’t know at the mere age of thirteen, is how this project planted a seed that has directed my path to where I am now. Costa Rica was full of memorable experiences, but the most lasting one was my homestay experience. I sat on the bus as my teacher listed off the student-homestay family pairings and reminded us that most of them did not speak any English, that our Spanish skills will be tested. I watched each student collect their things from their seat, step off the bus and into the open arms of a family who they have never met before. To say that I was nervous would be a gross understatement. But then it was my turn, and I stepped off the bus to a mother of three young boys. The mother requested the boys grab my things, and we started walking to their home. The town of Tres Equis was the smallest I had ever seen before, it only required probably a twenty minute walk between the edges of the town. At the house, they showed me to my room, which was previously the boys’, although while I was in the house, they all had to squish in their mom’s room. I was shocked at the acceptance and sacrifices they made for me, a young person they had never met before. They gave me some alone time, let me unpack my things, and get comfy in my room before dinner. But instead of calming down and relaxing, my mind just started to race faster. What was I going to say when I left the room? What if I don’t know how to say something in Spanish? What if they don’t like me? How do I be the best guest possible? I didn’t have any of the answers by the time dinner was ready. I stepped out of my temporary place of protection and into the unknown. Getting into conversational Spanish was difficult, but not impossible. Before I knew it, the conversation had flourished. I was putting together sentences about my family, friends, and time in Costa Rica. Anytime I didn’t know what they were asking or how to say something, the oldest boy would pull up google translate on his mom’s phone and figure it out within seconds. Each dinner was easier and easier, we would simply each share our experiences of our days. Mine often being a service project we completed in the area such as working on a farm or painting a school, while the kids went to school and the mother took care of her baby and the house. They shared their gratitude for our daily projects but upon leaving, it wasn’t the service work that I was proud of but rather the connection I built with my Costa Rican family. I was a sad and reflective thirteen year old on the bus ride leaving Tres Equis, wondering if I would ever see them again or if they would even remember me in a year. In that, I was also asking questions about our service work, I felt unsatisfied. These homestay families opened their homes to us, made us feel comfortable, loved, and welcomed. But what had we done in return? Was our service meaningful or lasting? Looking back, the purpose of that trip was to challenge our perspectives. Most of my fellow classmates lived in well-off areas and were used to a certain lifestyle, which meant our collective perception of the world was in a bubble that was just waiting to be popped. Visiting Tres Equis challenged me to see poverty in ways I hadn’t before. Living in an open-air house where the walls didn’t meet the roof and the amenities seemed ancient, I still saw and felt so much happiness. It was a context that they were used to. This stayed in the back of my head as I pursued the rest of my education. Throughout high-school, I participated in more homestays in Italy and Uruguay. I craved to be in new environments and cultures again and again, to connect with others, to see from a new perspective, and to be challenged to adapt. While not all of them were service trips, I left feeling the same way. I felt impact from my time spent with them, but did they feel lasting impact from my presence? While these experiences were always in the back of my mind, it took me time to figure out how they would play into my life. When I started my time at Santa Clara University, I was a Biology major. Besides my pure interest in science throughout school, part of the influence was definitely my parents. My mom is a chiropractor and my dad is a naturopath. While my dad and I were either hiking or trying out a new recipe, we would have countless conversations around what exactly is good health, how we achieve it in our lifestyles, and what may be the impact. When my mom could steal me away from my dance practices, she would put me to work in the front desk of her office. Her patients would come in, say “You must be Dr. Shima’s daughter, you two look so alike!” and then launch into a story of praise, describing how my mom made such an impact in their life by adjusting their spines. From my exposure to their careers, I quickly learned that our happiness heavily relies on good health. At the same time, the obstacles to good health can be innumerable and there is no one solution to it. From these realizations, I found myself envisioning a future in which my own career is focused on helping people achieve their full health potential. Although I continue to be a Biology major, I have added Public Health into the mix. Finding Public Health allowed me to combine my passion for improving and advancing knowledge within the health sciences, while doing so on a population level. I took a particularly significant Public Health class in my sophomore year that connected these puzzle pieces together. I learned exactly what is included in the realm of Public Health, how it’s values are applied in real life, and I was introduced to intervention. Intervention was by far the most striking aspect to me with the idea that through a policy-change or invention, you can make a difference in the course of someone’s health. The idea that maybe the simplest of changes at birth, can make the biggest impact and have rippling effects on an individual or community’s health in the future. To create change with the objective of long-lasting impact, that’s something I have been craving since my trip to Costa Rica. The values that have carried me the furthest in life are empathy, open-mindedness, and adaptability. The use of these values are essential in the pursuit of public health and social entrepreneurship. I am passionate about removing obstacles that prevent the attainment of good health and I crave to understand the varying contexts in which these obstacles are faced. When we are in good health, we have the potential to achieve so much more than we know. As my journey as a Global Social Benefit Fellow commences, it’s thrilling to reflect on the winding path that brought me here. I am beyond excited to have exposure to social entrepreneurship and it’s innovative yet transformational nature, to observe the impacts of implemented solutions, and to learn the importance of evaluation and improvement.
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AuthorHi, I'm Izzy Silber. I'm a Senior at Santa Clara University studying Public Health Science and Biology. Currently, I am working as a Global Social Benefit Fellow for the Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship. Click on my "About Me" blog post to learn more about my journey to pursue this Fellowship. ArchivesCategories |