Alexandria (Ola) Asuan is a fourth-year undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Honors Medical Anthropology, and she is minoring in Global Public Health and Dance. Ola is one of 23 first-year students chosen to be class of 2025’s Eminence Fellows. She plans on attending graduate school to obtain a PhD in Medical Anthropology and Masters in Public Health after graduating.
Ola is from Aurora, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, and graduated from Metea Valley High School in 2021. She was involved with various clubs and organizations including Principal’s Advisory Board, being on the leadership board of Fresh Connect, and was President of her Orchesis Dance Team. Her time in high school motivated Ola to become involved in campus life at Ohio State. She is a member of the Undergraduate Anthropology Club (UAC) and Membership Chair of Dance Connection, where she gets to perform with fellow members, choreograph pieces, and plan social events. Additionally, Ola is the lab manager of the Community Environmental Lab and works as a Key Informant under Dr. Anaís Roque of Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Their research investigates food, energy, and water insecurities (FEW) in Puerto Rico. She is also a student research assistant working on projects regarding natural disasters, power outages, and health outcomes in the United States Gulf Coast. She collaborates with Dr. Smitha Rao of OSU’s College of Social Work and Dr. Anais Roque. Her interests include the relationship of the body and mind, the ways in which humans and evolution shape various diseases and illnesses, and the intersection of biology and culture.