Julia Shenkman '19

Julia Shenkman is an alumna of the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, where she majored in Anthropology with a concentration in Cultural Anthropology and Global Health Studies. Her research interests include medical anthropology, medical tourism, indigenous medicine, medical pluralism, and borderland politics. Julia was introduced to anthropology through the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program where she worked with Professor Cynthia Robin on developing a community archaeology exhibit in Belize. Her current research interests have been influenced by her personal experiences in El Paso, Texas. Through the fellowship, Julia completed an honors thesis that sought to redefine medical tourism, based on fieldwork conducted in El Paso. Outside of the Mellon Mays Fellowship, Julia was involved as the Chief of Staff of the Associated Student Government and as a peer educator with Wildcats Advancing Total Campus Health. She was also selected as this year’s anthropology department marshal, recurved the Oswald Werner Prize for Distinguished Honors Thesis in Anthropology, and is the recipient of the Northwestern Alumni Graduate Fellowship. Following graduation, Julia will remain at Northwestern to complete coursework for a Master's in Public Health through The Graduate School and Feinberg School of Medicine.