Going full circle

Damé Idossa is following in the footsteps of many CBS students before her. She spent the summer studying for the medical school admission test, sending in applications, prepping for her senior year and finding a student research position in a faculty lab. Yet, the path she followed to arrive here is far from typical. "I have a different perspective than many of my peers," says Idossa. "I know what living on $1 a day looks like. Sometimes I can't believe where I am today. I have been given the opportunity of a lifetime."

A native of Ethiopia, Idossa and her family experienced years of hardship before making their way to the United States. Idossa, her mother and a sister lived in a rented kitchen with dirt floors after her father, a political dissident, fled to the United States to seek asylum. During the three years it took for him to win asylum for the family, Idossa, her mother and sisters sometimes didn't have enough food and feared being found by soldiers.

Idossa attended high school in a Twin Cities suburb and made her way to the U of M where, as a freshman, she applied to Minnesotas Future Doctors, a program for students interested in serving the states diverse urban and rural communities. That's where Idossa first learned about health disparities. A visit to Ethiopia put a human face on the problem for her.

"What really solidified my desire to go to medical school was going back to Ethiopia. I volunteered in an orphanage and in the largest hospital in the country. The experiences I had there were unlike any other," says Idossa, who recalls conditions on one pediatrics ward where a child with malaria would be next to one with a cold who would be next to one being treated for leukemia.

In many cases, the people she observed suffered from preventable conditions or had delayed treatment due to lack of resourced leading to needless complications. "I remember realizing that someones health was what everything else was built on."

Not long after, Idossa and a friend, Thuy Nguyen-Tran, who graduated from the college last spring, founded Circle of Giving. The student group educates students about health disparities and inspires them to get involved. The group has hosted lecture series about health needs within Hmong, Somali, Native American and Latino communities in Minnesota.

Last spring Damé and Thuy received the Presidents Student Leadership and Service Award and two Tony Diggs Excellence awards for Circle of Giving. Diggs, who died in 2006, was director of the Student Activities Office for 16 years. The awards recognize activities of student groups.

"By educating my peers and encouraging them to join me in advocating for the underserved, I can have a greater impact in this world," says Idossa.