Amanda Abner ‘23

Amanda Abner is a senior at the University of Notre Dame studying Science-Business and Japanese. Amanda is highly interested in addressing the disparities in access to healthcare globally, the interconnectedness of society and economics, and foreign relations between the United States and Asia, in particular Japan and South Korea. In her role as the International Division Director of the Student International Business Council (SIBC), she has been managing and assisting research teams that do nonprofit, consulting research for companies in countries across the world, including Palestine, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Ghana, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and Russia.

During spring break of 2022, Amanda was able to expand on her interests in international studies and global health when she participated in the Global Medical Brigades to Panama with her fellow Notre Dame classmates. It was in Panama where she witnessed the gapping disparities in wealth and healthcare access that were affecting people's lives. She became intimately passionate about addressing these Global Health issues. Through her research experience with Malaria labs in the Biological Sciences department, she is also concerned with Vector-Borne diseases in susceptible areas that may have issues with healthcare access.

Amanda hopes to use her lingual skills in Japanese, Spanish, and Korean to conduct international research and work in the field to address issues firsthand. Amanda intends to go to graduate school to study International Affairs and/or Biology with a concentration in Global Health to expand on her interests in international research and equality.