Mia Casciani

Outdoor sportswomen and -men are often attuned to the frailty of our environment, and as a surfer, rock climber and scuba diver, Mia is finding her place as a steward of the planet and the vulnerabilities of those who inhabit it. Already she has touched people around the world in ways that build opportunities for a better life.

To support herself through college, Mia holds multiple jobs, including coaching through UC San Diego Recreation where she teaches surfing, climbing, springboard diving (a program she developed) and tennis to fellow students, adults and children. Mia also represents UC San Diego on competitive climbing and surf teams. The other side of her brain is busy mastering the Egyptian dialect of Arabic, an interest that began in high school and most recently gave her an opportunity to participate in international programs on campus. She hopes that fluency in Arabic will be woven into her future work.

Because her father is an airline employee, Mia has had opportunities to travel. Learning a new language influenced her to take a gap year to travel as a fabric buyer for a company that provides micro loans to small businesses in developing countries, and manufacturing jobs for disabled workers in her home state of Virginia.

Communicating in another language with locals in remote communities made her aware of issues surrounding access to medical and mental health care. Her widening interest in a career that addresses health challenges has been reinforced in her volunteer work in a veterans’ summer sports clinic, and for a nonprofit that teaches surfing to people with spinal cord injuries. She also finds time to participate in a campus organization, Students for Global Health.

Mia is considering the many options that would blend her love of outdoor sports and her interests in marine animal health and water conservation with a growing interest in health care and caregiving. Currently she’s been thinking of pursuing epidemiology. She supports herself financially and carries a heavy class load in order to graduate early. “My talents, experiences and interests have paved my path toward an educational/advocacy career. I haven’t decided if I want to teach and counsel or go into a policy-making field, such as child rights advocacy and law.”