Raenita Spriggs, a FACES San Diego Class of 2013 graduate, is now a Class of 2016 graduate from the University of California Berkeley where she majored in Public Health and minored in Conservation and Resource Studies. Raenita intends to pursue either a Master’s in Public Administration or a Master’s in Public Health, aspiring towards a career in Non-profit Environmental Health Policy and Research, specifically addressing Environmental Racism.
“My second year at Berkeley, I took a class on Bioethics which opened my eyes to the reality of the disproportionate environmental burden placed on communities of color and communities with lower socioeconomic status. Although there are many ways this issue manifests, I’m particularly interested in the toxin and chemical burden placed in these communities (in the forms of chemical dumps, waste treatment facilities, factories, freeways, etc.) and the resulting higher rates of cancer and respiratory diseases. I was enraged to find that many of these communities have been “written off” by the government and thus their needs aren’t considered when health policies are made and funding is allocated. To me, it says a great deal about how we value lives in this country. This imbalance in environmental risk and benefit drives me to pursue a career dedicated to further investigating the toxin burden, implementing remedial change via policy, and giving a voice back to socially disadvantaged communities similar to the one I come from.”