Introducing the Nothing But Nets Malaria Fellows!

Last week, the RAC and Nothing But Nets kicked off our semester long Malaria Fellowship — in partnership with the United Nations Foundation — for undergraduate students. We searched the country far and wide for the best candidates and narrowed it down to these ten students. Fellows are already busy building out their core group of students and generating interest on campus to help save lives from malaria through advocacy and fundraising this semester.

Next month will open with a Fellowship Summit here in DC. Fellows will return to campus with tools to begin their advocacy push with letters and calls to Congress, making sure our Representatives continue to fully fund anti-malaria initiatives. In March, Fellows and their core students will meet with their representatives’ offices in-district, and April will focus on fundraising and awareness-raising, culminating to World Malaria Day on April 25.

So who are these students that signed up for the challenges and opportunities ahead? They are from all over the country, many are L’Taken alums, some have traveled abroad in Africa, and some are just really interested in fight malaria and organizing.

We at the RAC and Nothing But Nets are proud to introduce the ten outstanding students selected:

Erica Tooch
Tufts University, Sophomore
Major: Sociology, Minors: Judaic Studies and Communication Media

“This semester I want to educate my peers about malaria and the simple solutions available. After educating my peers I hope to inspire them to take action, contact their representatives, and to help them be a part in preventing malaria.”

Sarah Graham-Helwig
The George Washington University, Junior
Major: Communications, Minor: Health and Wellness

“This semester, I hope to successfully accomplish grassroots organizing and the techniques behind bringing together a passionate audience of students around one, centered mission. Also, I hope to further learn more about Nothing But Nets and all of the advocacy steps that are currently being done to stop the spread of malaria.”

Stephanie Dowling
Yale University, Sophomore
Major: Global Affairs

“This semester I hope to sponsor events in support of malaria prevention through as many organizations on campus as I can, including The New Blue, my all-female a cappella group, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, The Yale Slifka Center for Jewish Life at Yale, and TeamU. I hope to inspire other people to develop a passion for combating global health issues.”

Isabella Merritt
American University, Freshman
Major: International Service

“I want to create awareness about Nothing But Nets through an interest group and outreach programs on American University’s campus.”

Kira Levin
Brandeis University, Freshman
Majors: Anthropology, International and Global Studies, Sociology

“I hope to motivate students at Brandeis University to educate themselves on malaria prevention and treatment, while at the same time spreading the word around campus. I plan on encouraging residents to reach out to politicians and emphasize the importance of funding malaria prevention.”

Zoe Klein
University of Maryland – College Park, Senior
Majors: Psychology, Minor: Global Poverty

“I hope to accomplish many tasks throughout this fellowship but perhaps the most important in my mind is increasing awareness. Heightened knowledge about the diseases that many developing countries face will ideally lead to action by many.”

Emily Rothstein
University of Wisconsin – Madison, Sophomore
Major: Community and Nonprofit Leadership, Minors: Jewish Studies, Entrepreneurship

“I hope that during this semester I am able to engage students all across campus and get them excited about Nothing But Nets. My goal is to not only raise awareness about malaria, but also to raise money and be able to show the engaged students the difference they can make by just donating ten dollars.”

Jason Flatt
Binghamton University, Freshman
Major: Undecided

“My goal through my work with Nothing But Nets, is to bring together students with different backgrounds and interests from all across campus in order to tap into the wide range of knowledge and insights different students can provide.”

 
Rachel Landman
Hamilton College, Junior
Major: Biology

“As a fellow this semester I hope to learn about, and gain experience in both grassroots organization and the promotion of important public health causes, such as malaria prevention. At Hamilton College, I plan to educate and increase awareness of the current issue of malaria worldwide, and thus promote activism and advocacy toward increased prevention.”

Charles J. Mays
University of Oklahoma, Senior
Major: Political Science, Minors: Hebrew, Women’s Studies

“This year I hope to gain valuable lobbying skills and to promote the health policy concerns of the UN, namely that we can slow the spread of preventable disease such as malaria, and through our efforts secure funding and resources to develop vaccines.”