Northwestern University sent a team to Atlanta to compete at the 2013 International Emory Global Health Case Competition hosted by Emory University over the weekend of March 23. Caleb Hsieh — one of the students chosen to rep NU as part of the 2013 team — talked to us about his journey to and interests in global health and this year’s team during an email interview prior to the competition.
Photo Courtesy of Caleb Hsieh
Name: Caleb Hsieh
Hometown: Carlisle, MA.
Age: 27
Hsieh, a fourth-year medical student at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine (and a 2008 NU graduate with a degree in Materials Science Engineering), wrote that he first got involved with the team through the Student Committee for the Center for Global Health. He wrote that his interest in global health stemmed from his involvement with the Northwestern University Alliance for International Development (NU-AID) — “a student-run global health interest group at Feinberg.” He cited his favorite global health topic as that of health-outcome disparities (“especially among minority groups and social/structural determinants of outcomes”) and wrote that he was looking to the Global Health Case Competition as “learning experience” which he hoped would “challenge” him “to think about global health problems in new and different ways.”
In your opinion, what gives the NU team a unique edge going into the event or sets it apart from other teams?
I think we draw from a wide variety of backgrounds. We have global-health majors, MPH students, Business students, and Medical or Pre-medical students. We also have people that have lived and served in other countries. I think the diversity helps broaden our collective understanding.
What the biggest thing you’ve learned from your experience as part of the team?
Communication within a team setting is critical.
How can students interested in being a part of this get more information or become involved?
I would contact Daniel Young and express interest. If there is enough interest next year, we would like to expand the competition to include an internal competition within NU.
