ESS Biography



DAMIANA ANDONOVA, Pre-Med writer and aspiring obstetrician



Major: Biology and HSSP

College/Employer: Brandeis

Year of Graduation: 2015

Picture of Damiana Andonova

Brief Biographical Sketch:

Damiana Andonova ’15, from Chicago, Illinois, is an aspiring obstetrician double majoring in Health: Science, Society and Policy and Biology. She explores her interests in obstetrics through many disciplines including art, literature, philanthropy, and research. She is the founder of the Brandeis University March of Dimes Council, is a research assistant at the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism, and is a published author.

Throughout her educational trajectory, she has been involved with several women's health NGOs including Expanding Lives, a charity aimed at educating and empowering Nigerian girls, Haitian Health Foundation, the March of Dimes, and Partners in Health and has volunteered in hospitals. As a 2013 Sorensen Fellow, Damiana traveled to Bulgaria for an obstetrics internship in Blagoevgrad, at the MBAL Hospital, and collected health narratives of community members, patients, health policy makers, and health workers in an effort to generate discourse and discussion and explore the use of literature as a healing form of the arts. At Brandeis, Damiana is also a Lerman-Neubauer Fellow.



Past Classes

  (Clicking a class title will bring you to the course's section of the corresponding course catalog)

W33: Beyond Abortion Rights: Expanding Reproductive Rights Discourse in America in Splash Fall 2013 (Nov. 16, 2013)
The United States' focus on negative reproductive rights controversies has greatly limited the positive reproductive rights discourse in America simply by use of language. This course focuses expanding what “reproductive rights” mean by exploring reproductive rights in a global context. This course touches on women’s economic rights, as well as the status of positive reproductive health rights in America: primarily the lack of access to public assistive reproduction technologies and parental leave. We will consider limitations to policy improvement and we will consider why women’s reproduction is socially considered an impediment in her economic and work-related successes. International policy comparisons will provide for an informative discussion on whether the “reproductive rights” narrative in America limits women’s options and limits strategies for expanding upon a more parent-friendly work environment for both sexes. Statistics and discipline specific vocabulary will be addressed for audience’s participation.


W34: Narrating Social Justice and Healthcare in Splash Fall 2013 (Nov. 16, 2013)
This writing seminar focuses on the narrative process behind creative non-fiction and is geared for students who have had experiences working in a health-care setting. The course calls into question the goals of volunteerism and touches on the broader social, economic, and cultural implications of “doing good” locally and abroad. After exploring the complexity of the experience, writing techniques to enrich narration will be explored. This class will be especially useful for those interested in applying for summer programs and eventually college applications.