Nancy Garcia ’24 Receives Stouffer Fellowship for Graduate Studies
Nancy Garcia ’24 from Lancaster, California, has received the Elsie M. Stouffer Fellowship from Grinnell College. The $28,600 fellowship award is the result of a generous gift made by Elsie M. Stouffer, a member of the class of 1924.
The fellowship is open to senior women who are fluent in French, Spanish, or Portuguese with the plans for a career and graduate study in a public service field in Latin America and Latin American communities.
Garcia, a biology major and science, medicine, and society concentrator, plans to pursue a medical degree and master’s in public health. She is committed to train as a primary care physician who is focused on addressing issues related to policy, care, and research for underserved Latine communities in the Los Angeles County area.
“The Stouffer Fellowship provides me an opportunity to attend medical school and pursue my passion to make healthcare equitable for communities in the place I call home,” said Garcia. “I look forward to furthering my education and experiences in health equity and connecting my medical training to public health reform to ameliorate barriers to care across communities in California.”
Garcia will work in clinical research focused on health disparities, preventative healthcare, or chronic diseases in Latine communities before starting her MD/MPH dual degree program. She has held two summer internships—UCLA Public Health Scholars Training program in 2022 and IES Health Studies program in 2023—that solidified her passion to combat the social determinants and barriers that arise with treating patients from underserved areas.
“These internship experiences have allowed me to gain a better understanding of how to combat health disparities with an interdisciplinary approach, combining public health, policy, the medical system, and seeing how these sectors interact and impact people’s health,” said Garcia.
In Los Angeles she focused on health disparities in child health and education, presenting policies, moderating a panel, and conducting and presenting health equity research on “Food Insecurity Amongst Mothers in New York City” at the CDC’s 2023 CUPS/Ferguson Student Showcase and Expo. In Santiago, Chile, she studied Chile’s approach and execution of public health policy for Latine communities. Her time was filled with clinical observations in public and private health sectors, a public health seminar, and a Spanish course for medical professionals.
In addition, Garcia is completing the third semester of her Fungal Biology Mentored Advanced Project having presented a poster at the 2023 Midstates Undergraduate Research Symposium in Biological Science and Psychology at Washington University in St. Louis, MO.
“It has been a great pleasure to work with Nancy on this project because of her dedication to her work, her fascination with her results, as well as her desire to continue to explore unanswered questions,” shared Kathy Jacobson, Professor of Biology and Chair of the Science Division. “Nancy’s focus, determination, and curiosity compliment her other outstanding academic skills as she prepares for her work in the medical profession.”
Garcia is a Grinnell College Questbridge Scholar and a Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship recipient for summer 2023. She has served as a co-leader of the Minority Association of Pre-Health Students for three years, teaching assistant for Introduction to Biological Inquiry, PenPal with MICA Marshalltown, and research and evaluation intern with the Special Services for Groups in Los Angeles.
Over 40 Grinnell College alumni have received funding for graduate studies through the Elsie M. Stouffer Fellowship. The award is advised and administered through Global Fellowships and Awards in the Center for Careers, Life, and Service