Hi everyone! My name is Zoey Zheng, and I just completed my sophomore year! I’m a biology major, on the pre-med track, with a minor in chemistry and a CFM certificate! I’m incredibly excited to be leaving for India in a few short days!

The program I am participating in is Himalayan Health, and I chose this program for a variety of reasons. I love the outdoors and being out in nature, so the outdoorsy element of this program really spoke to me. As someone who wants to go into healthcare field eventually, finding a program where I could learn skills and ideas that would transfer into my further education was super important. The main portion of the program is WFR, or wilderness first responder, and the hands on learning experience this trip will provide was super exciting. We’ll additionally be able to shadow professionals at the local hospital and learn about the challenges they face. Learning directly from them, and seeing first hand what they deal with, is I think one of the best ways to truly learn. Through this program, I hope to become a more well rounded individual, in terms of understanding medical systems and healthcare systems that we don’t see here in the US. This trip additionally has quite the physical challenge, so I’m excited to push myself outside of my comfort zone a little bit.

I’m incredibly grateful to be participating in this program and the chance to explore India. I love traveling and firmly believe in the benefits of exposing myself to new environments and cultures. I can’t wait for everything this program has to offer. See you in India!