We are happy to announce our second Anthony and Marcia Baker Scholarship recipient-Serena Mair.
Serena reflects on her childhood "Along the shores of Treasure Beach, St. Elizabeth, one of Jamaica’s 14 parishes, the annual parade of art enthusiasts swamps the streets. Huddled together, they anticipate the countless hours of spoken word the literary festival has to offer. Here, I spent my childhood summers obsessing over the complex ideals of poetry whilst attempting to create sandcastles from the rough, exfoliating grains of the parish’s black sand. As the sunshine sought its end and windy, rainy days overtook the island, the words that were once poetic became theatrical, my sandcastle fascination replaced with backstage visits. For months, the back row of chilly theaters was my library, the actors my father directed the characters to their own story, one that would spark mine"
Pertaining to the scholarship:
“I am an incoming honors freshman at Nova Southeastern University double majoring in Medical Humanities and Public Health with an Experiential Leadership minor. As a scholarship recipient within my institution's leadership department and an early admit into the Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine's Master's in Public Health Degree Program, I hold a keen interest in women's health and aim to utilize my writing skills to improve black maternal health to lower mortality rates. I aspire to research in the academia setting to better understand the impact of cultural practices and the gender bias in biomedical sciences on the postpartum conditions of black women. With aspirations to engage in undergraduate women's and public health research, the Anthony and Marcia Baker scholarship allows me the ability to better enhance my collegiate education without the financial constraints of tuition costs. Additionally, as a 2024 recipient, I look forward to giving back to my South Floridian community by starting a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the health and legal support of minority women facing medical malpractice. As a Jamaican poet, the Partners for Youth Foundation opens paths for me to write not from mere fiction and imagination, but to write fonts of change, virtue, and integrity with the quill of justice and the ink of the law.”
