Ahnyia Sanders.
Ahnyia Sanders.

Franklin & Marshall Scholar Pursues Humanitarian, Entrepreneurial Projects

Spring 2021 | Miami

Ahnyia Sanders, a Posse Scholar at Franklin & Marshall College (F&M), is a pre-med student majoring in biology.

While at home in Miami during the pandemic, Ahnyia was motivated to act on her childhood passion for baking and launched “Nyia’s Sweet Treats,” a business that she has already formalized as an LLC. She is now running the baking company from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, as she completes her senior year at F&M with an emphasis on medicine and community health care.

During her first years at F&M, Ahnyia worked at the local Partnership for Public Health. She wrote articles on health-related topics and shared information on the organizational website.

In the fall of 2019, Ahnyia entered an international honors program for health and community that began in D.C. followed by travel abroad to Buenos Aires, Argentina, Hanoi, Vietnam, and Cape Town, South Africa. She interviewed mothers, doctors and community members to understand different approaches to maternal and child health within healthcare systems and different cultural contexts.

Ahnyia traveled to Australia as a Gilman scholar to study the Great Barrier Reefs.

”I realized how structural violence works and is hidden in plain slight; people don’t even realize how systems affect people negatively, especially their health,” she says. “After going abroad, I realized I don’t want to be on wrong side of the spectrum. I want to practice preventative care.”

Late in the winter of 2020, Ahnyia traveled to Australia as a Gilman scholar to study and explore the marine ecosystem, specifically the Great Barrier Reefs. While there she also expanded her academic palate with social sciences and entrepreneurship courses. Unfortunately, her time was cut short when she was forced to return to Miami due to the pandemic.

Back in Miami last summer, she participated in The Minority Students in Health Careers Motivation Program (MSHCMP) at University of Miami-Miller School of Medicine. The program helps students from underrepresented backgrounds increase their competitiveness for admission to medical schools. Ahnyia also worked with the Sea Turtle Oversight Protection in Miami to rescue local sea turtles.

Ahnyia is currently enrolled in a doula certification program at Lancaster nonprofit Patients R Waiting, which was founded by Posse alumna Dr. Cherise Hamblin. She credits the Posse network as being an invaluable support for her at F&M.

When Ahnyia graduates in May, she plans to focus on furthering her skills in midwifery while building her baking business. Further down the line, she is considering medical school or a master of public health program to pursue a career in maternal and child health care.