“Students are the treasure of the Harvard Chan School…”

“Students are the treasure of the Harvard Chan School. Professional education gives students the tools for a lifetime of service. No one elects the field of public health to make the most money they can nor because anyone else has forced them to do it. Everyone who studies public health is genuinely motivated to understand the scientific basis of health and the nature of threats to health; as health professionals, they want to make real change for the better in people’s lives.

“We support student travel fellowships because there are some kinds of learning that cannot occur in the classroom. The opportunity to live and work with local communities provides a hands-on experience that you just cannot duplicate elsewhere. We love the idea of enabling people to gain experience and learning at critical times in their lives—experiences that can sometimes shape an entire career. Providing support to the remarkable and highly motivated students who find their way to the Harvard Chan School is very rewarding. It makes you feel very good about the future and the potential for good embodied in our students.”

—Harvey Fineberg and Mary Wilson helped create the Albina Fund for Student Travel Fellowships, which provides students from the FXB Center for Health and Human Rights with hands-on learning experiences focused on international assistance and global health and development. Mary serves as an adjunct professor in Global Health and Population at the Harvard Chan School, and Harvey was previously dean of the School.