De’Mia Harrington Artis

De’Mia Harrington Artis, an American, is completing a bachelor’s degree in public health at Trinity Washington University.  Her long-term plan is to leverage her education and her work experience within her community to develop and implement health initiatives that improve access to care and health outcomes for underserved populations.

 De’Mia hopes to create a lasting change for those facing systemic challenges in underserved communities, which requires innovative solutions and relentless advocacy. This interest has driven her choice to pursue a degree in public health.     

 De’Mia is a Washingtonian whose experiences as a mother of four contributed to her recognition of the importance of creating opportunities for others. Before working in healthcare, De’Mia was a licensed cosmetologist for over 20 years. This was about much more than looks; empowering women to feel confident and capable drove her purpose and led her to become interested in improving the lives of women and children.

 With previous experience as an emergency medical technician (EMT), De’Mia is currently working in guest services at the Children’s National Hospital. She is attending school full-time along with balancing work and family commitments. De’Mia hopes to combine her knowledge and experience to drive meaningful change in public health, and to work directly within a community health organization or public health department. Ultimately, she would like to establish a community-based health initiative that combines preventive care, education, and resources to empower individuals to take control of their health.

Gladys Mariscal

Gladys Mariscal is a Bank-Fund Credit Union sponsored grantee.

Gladys Mariscal, a U.S. citizen, is completing a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education at Trinity Washington University.  She has been in this field for more than a decade, supporting both children and their families. She is going to school full-time and excelling academically, while working two jobs closely related to her field. 

 Gladys encountered learning challenges during her early years of education, but through her work at a Montessori preschool job she recognized the barrier and took steps to overcome them. Her choice of career path has been influenced by mentoring from her teachers. Gladys, based on her own education and work experiences, wants to help families understand child development in a way that is digestible and applicable in their day-to-day home lives.

She is mindful of parents’ needs to learn about resources if their children have developmental issues. She is an activist, helping mothers learn how to understand such issues and access resources, and has started an outreach network for women who want community.

 Gladys’s long-term plan is to open her own center, emphasizing the Montessori methods she has learned and believes in, either in the state of Maryland, whose standards she is familiar with, in Panama (where her family originally hailed from), or even another place abroad. Once she succeeds in that, she would like to try merging early childhood education with proximity to a senior citizens’ residential facility to provide interactions between generations.

Rachel McCutcheon

Rachel McCutcheon, an American, is completing her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Trinity Washington University. Her exposure to the medical field, and sense of purpose and commitment, began when she joined the U.S. Navy at the age of 18 and trained as a hospital corpsman.

 Her interest in nursing was also bolstered by working for six years at the Perry Family Health Center, starting as a volunteer and subsequently as a medical assistant in obstetrics, pediatrics, and geriatric care.  The Center served as a support system for an underserved community, where many patients were single mothers, providing not only medical care but also the knowledge that these women needed to care for themselves and their children.    

 Currently working full time as a patient care technician at a teaching hospital, Rachel’s educational goal is to become a licensed practical nurse with a focus on mental health. She sees her combined passion for cooking and counseling/educating as a way to serve the community, with her ultimate goal being to open a mental health clinic. Food is a tool to help people open up, and feeding the body helps nourish the soul.