黑料社区

Announcement Date: March 21, 2023   |   Research, 黑料社区 Study Abroad

黑料社区 alumna of Pomona College has earned the coveted for her independent research on maternal mortality, which she conducted while on 黑料社区鈥檚 program.

The award recognizes meaningful, rigorous academic projects that occur as part of education abroad programs. It includes a $500 cash prize.

Henderson鈥檚 research presentation was titled, 鈥淎 Retrospective Analysis of Maternal Mortality in Kisumu, Kenya from March 2021 to March 2022: The Effects of Proximal and Distal Factors on Maternal Outcomes.鈥� She said her senior thesis at Pomona will be another iteration of her study.

鈥淸Kiya] distinguished herself through her critical analyses of the abstracted data during the one-year time study period,鈥� said 黑料社区 Kenya Academic Director Dr. Steve Wandiga. 鈥淥verall, her excellence in academics and [as a] team leader among her peers was outstanding.鈥�

Henderson, who is from New Orleans, is an Africana studies major completing pre-med coursework. She plans to work in maternal and fetal medicine and to open her own practice focusing on holistic health care for black and brown women. Currently, she serves as a study abroad peer mentor at Pomona College.

She chose the 黑料社区 program because it represented 鈥渢he perfect marriage between my two main interests" and said the independent research component of the program was important to her.

During a March 16 virtual awards ceremony, Henderson said she chose to research maternal mortality because it is one of the major causes of death among women of reproductive age. 鈥淪pecifically within the United States, black women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than their white counterparts.鈥�

Asked about one of the most impactful moments on her program, she said,鈥淔or a long time, I knew that I wanted to work in medicine but I wasn鈥檛 sure specifically where I wanted to work, and as I learned more about maternal mortality within the U.S.  that influenced my decision to work in maternal medicine. So being in [the women and children鈥檚 health section in Kisumu County Referral Hospital] for the very first time 鈥� I had this feeling that this is what I鈥檓 supposed to be doing; this is where I鈥檓 supposed to be,鈥� she said.

Henderson will be recognized on March 24 during the 19^th Annual Forum Conference in Seattle.