Tamar Oostrom Wins 2012 Johnson Opportunity Grant at Washington and Lee University

LEXINGTON, VA (05/22/2012)(readMedia)-- Tamar Oostrom of Richland, Wash., a junior at Washington and Lee University, has been selected for the spring/summer 2012 Johnson Opportunity Grant. The Johnson Program on Leadership and Integrity awards 25-30 grants each year.

Oostrom will be spending the summer providing medical care to people in a remote area of the Trans-Himalayan region. She is a dual citizen of the United States and the Netherlands, and a double major in biochemistry and mathematics.

Through the Himalayan Health Exchange Program, Oostrom will join a team of doctors, dentists, residents and students who will hike between villages setting up temporary clinics to treat approximately 1,600 to 1,800 patients. In addition to helping carry supplies, set up the clinics and help with basic medical tasks, Oostrom intends to collect data on how many patients are seen, their concerns, and how best to meet them during the seven months of the year when the area is cut off from the rest of the world due to extreme cold and heavy snow accumulations.

She is a member of the varsity riding team at W&L.

The grants cover living, travel and other costs associated with the students' proposed activities, which are designed to help them with their future careers and fields of study. The grants vary in amount from $1,000 to $4,500 and are funded as part of the Johnson Program in Leadership and Integrity.