My academic plan explores illness narratives among Filipino U.S. military veterans who return to live in the Philippines and seek health care there after completing military service. This past summer, thanks to the CSEAS summer travel award, I was able to travel to Manila as part of my pre-dissertation summer research. While there, I was able to visit key health care spaces that serve veteran populations. In addition, I was able to meet with professors at the University of Santo Tomas and the University of the Philippines who I had been in correspondence with via e-mail about my research. Being able to meet with these professors in person played a large role in two of these professors agreeing to write me letters of affiliation for grant applications I submitted earlier this semester.
— Kara Zamora
Ph.D. candidate, Medical Anthropology
UC Berkeley-UC San Francisco joint degree program
CSEAS travel grant recipient