Amanda Chin, case worker at Asian Counseling and Referral Service, has received a $10,000 grant award from the University of Washington (UW) School of Public Health to support her pursuit of a Master of Health Administration degree.
Chin, who currently serves on the Patient Advisory Council at International Community Health Services (ICHS), said that after graduation, she hopes to get a job at a local community health center. She said her passion for “improving health care access and service for underserved populations” stems from her involvement with ICHS and witnessing the experiences of her immigrant parents, especially her elderly father who was given conflicting advice when he visited an eye clinic for treatment. Her father is partially blind.
“One doctor told him to use eye drops,” she said. “Another doctor told him not to use eye drops. Why were they not telling him the same thing?” She said her Chinese-speaking-father, who does not have a formal education, has always encouraged her to pursue her education, believing that “knowledge is power.”
The Grayston-Day Fellowship was established in 1992 to support tuition and other educational expenses of graduate students who are members of racial and ethnic groups who are underrepresented among public health professionals.