Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships & Awards (OMSFA)

My name is Tashmee Sarwar, and I am a first-generation eldest daughter of immigrants from Bothell, WA. My journey at UW began even before I was a true Husky. I took a UW in the High School course on Neurobiology during my senior year while writing my application to be an undergrad at UW Seattle. Fast forward to the end of my four years at UW, I have developed a deep passion for public health, health equity, and advocacy. Taking classes on climate change’s impact on health in the Global South, US Race and Ethnic Politics, and introductory courses in Public Health, I knew that I wanted to combine my passions for medicine and law. In my time at UW, I have been President of Students of Color for Public Health, Neurological Surgery Research Assistant, Washington Bus fellow as a campaign lead for equitable voting methods, SHPEP Scholar at UW School of Medicine, TB Research Scholar, Seattle Children’s Clinical Research Scholar, and ASUW Senator. These are a few of the opportunities that have led me to seek an interdisciplinary career.

My overarching goal is to bridge the gap between clinical care and public health by focusing on the correlation between environmental health and pediatric neurodevelopment through research and policy work as a public health professional. As a Public Health-Global Health major at UW, I learned about maternal and child health issues while obtaining analytic skills for epidemiology methods and public health core frameworks. Through my Bioethics minor, I learned that children, especially children with disabilities, are most vulnerable in any healthcare system because of their lack of autonomy.

I am honored to receive the UW Class of 1954 Endowed Scholarship, as it will help fund my undergraduate and graduate-level public health education. My grassroots community organizing and lobbying skills, paired with epidemiologist-level training, will equip me to enact public and global health policy.