GW Scholar Travels to Israel on Global Health Fellowship

Posse Atlanta Scholar Nicole Mintz, a sophomore at The George Washington University (GW), plans to major in public health and has already been focused on accumulating valuable career experience.

Last summer, Nicole participated in a fully financed summer fellowship in Tel Aviv, Israel. The opportunity was a result of her involvement with TAMID, a nonreligious student organization that provides students with hands-on career development experiences in Israel.

After Nicole was accepted into the program, she submitted consulting projects to participating Israeli companies, and was proud to be offered a fellowship with the first company that reviewed her work.

Nicole interned with Keheala, a digital health platform that uses behavior change interventions to improve medication adherence for tuberculosis patients in Kenya. Her time in Tel Aviv was split between working, traveling and exploring the city, attending professional events, and forming new professional relationships.

At Keheala, Nicole investigated the HIV market in Kenya to determine the potential cost savings of the company’s entrance into the HIV sphere. She researched the cost of first-, second-, and third-line HIV drugs in Kenya, and created a formula to factor in the cost of acquired and transmitted drug resistance.

"My ultimate career aspiration would be to combine methods and approaches from different realms of knowledge to create innovative solutions to global public health issues," says Nicole.

Her passion for public health, epidemiology and social enterprise was strengthened by her summer experience in Tel Aviv and is sure to grow as she continues her studies at GW.