In 2006, Sheila received her B.S. at UC Santa Cruz in Health Sciences. She took a year off while attending Santa Cruz to study Spanish in Madrid, Spain. Her passion for public health grew during her experience in Europe. While studying, she volunteered her time helping the Calcutta nuns tend to ostracized women and children living with HIV/AIDS. She also spent numerous weeks in South Africa and Namibia working on policy measures with the United States Embassy on HIV prevention issues. After returning to the States she continued her HIV work as an HIV test counselor for the AIDS Health Project at UCSF. In 2005, Sheila received “the Scholar of Promise Award” from the National Collegiate Scholarship Foundation and was recognized by George W. Bush Jr. for her outstanding community service. At the Ministry of Health in Samoa, she spends her days running various projects and shadowing great women leaders. Her aspiration for the future is to work for an organization like the United Nations or the CDC.
"I am empowered by this experience and realize that I have the capability to take on various types of tasks and succeed even without the 'formal' training many places expect you to have before signing on."
– Sheila Baxter
