Angela Sapu

Global Children's Health (Program II)

As a little girl sitting on the barstool chair, my feet swayed back and forth, assured of my future career plan and my “why”- I wanted to become a doctor to help others who were in a vulnerable state, like I was. Overhearing my mom’s phone calls with my aunt in Congo, who was pleading for money to pay for my grandmother’s medical treatments, I was met with uncertainty. Thoughts swirled about how I could help create permanent change- but I didn’t know where to begin. Although the conversation took place in the kitchen, I noticed that the discussion extended much further than that one room.

That initial spark of curiosity would lead me to pursue a Program II (self-designed major) in “Global Children’s Health: Disparities in the US & Africa.” Through this major, I endeavor to explore and compare global health challenges in children’s health by analyzing the disparities within and between the United States and Africa. My research, stemming from my Bass Connections Team “Building Neurosurgical Systems in Developing Countries,” enables me to investigate problems that arise in healthcare systems through neurosurgery in both Uganda and Nigeria and work with a team to raise awareness and develop solutions. Engaging with the local community in Durham makes me realize that we can’t forget that change has been and can happen right in our neighborhoods. Through my coursework in global health, public policy, African and African American Studies, and other disciplines, I hope to bring the various things I’ve learned to the field of medicine to impact the lives of children & their families, both here and abroad, through practicing as a physician, problem-solving through research, and advocating for better policies. 

Knowing that I have more opportunities afforded to me than those who came before me, I have a responsibility to give back and turn that same curiosity I had in the kitchen as a young girl into action that has effects far beyond those kitchen walls.