Akela is a rising fourth-year undergraduate student at Binghamton University majoring in anthropology. Akela is concentrating her studies in biological anthropology due to her interest in public health, particularly the socioeconomic and political determinants of health. This focus was informed by her experiences growing up in low-income areas of New York City as well as spending more than seven years cumulatively in foster care. While pursuing higher education, Akela has worked to incorporate her knowledge of the public healthcare and child welfare systems into her learning, which has inspired her to hope for a career in childhood health advocacy