Makayla Akuyah Ndamele
UW Honors Graduates
Makayla Akuyah Ndamele

Public Health-Global Health
Human Rights
Designation: Departmental Honors
Honors Grads 2020/2021
Proudest Moment: Starting UW Mutual Aid to support BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, undocumented, and/or first-generation UW students with Students of Color for Public Health. As of June 2021, the community build around our mutual aid program has raised over 60k for over 125 students!
mndamele@gmail.comHello, my name is Makayla, and I am graduating with my B.A. in Public Health-Global Health with a minor in Human Rights. I have lived in Washington my whole life but am proud to be the daughter of my mom who is from Chamula, Mexico and my dad who is from Balai, Ghana.
During my time at UW, I have had the honor of being both and intern and fellow with ROOTS Young Adult Shelter where I created educational trainings for volunteers on root causes of homelessness, anti-oppression, food safety, conflict response, and best practices and policies at ROOTS. This experience was supported by the CELE center where I have been able to grow a community. I have also been able to serve on the School of Public Health Dean’s Advisory Council for Students where my UW community only grew. My coursework has been such an incredible opportunity to work with others, reflect on my positionality, and advocate for others with intersectional, anti-racist, and abolitionist praxis. I created a virtual board game simulating how structural barriers, identities, and policy all interact and affect access to healthcare and wellbeing as one of my ad-hoc projects which I am hoping to continue developing alongside my partner. Community has been at the center of all my work and will be what drives all my work to come. I plan to pursue an MPH in the near future after I gain more experience working directly with my communities.