A GHI Story That Defined a Career Path
When Jason Nagata dove— literally AND metaphorically—into Lake Atitlán and Santiago community life, he didn’t just make waves and win a swimming race; he defined a foundational experience in his understanding of health and healing. His essay “Differential Diagnosis” recounts how his GHI project became his senior thesis project and morphed into something far greater than academic research—it reshaped medical trajectory toward global health and reinforeced GHI's community-centered culture.
Jason traveled to Santiago Atitlán, Guatemala, with GHI in the very first yeares. He explored, studeid and published on how the Tz’utujil Maya associate food with health. Yet it was water—not just food—built defined focus too. He observed villagers washing clothes, drinking lake water, and trusting their community cultural beliefs and practices—all set against the backdrop of a the history of a long civil war.
Along the way, Jason met Josefa and her daughter, Nicolasa—who together built Jason's understanding of malnutrition and chronic illness. Their story was a turning point. It revealed that in resource-limited settings, health must be addressed in context: meals, water safety, family budgets, and community infrastructure are inseparable. Medication helped—but sustainable solutions required a collaborative engagement outside of healthcare—all in close collaboration with Josefa’s family and Jason's host grandmother.
Jason's story, now Dr. Nagata's story, describes his initail transformation from curious and motivated student to researcher and eventually physician. He taught us all the power that in Guatemala, community bonds and nurturing collective resilience were what truly heals, and educates.
Jason Nagata’s narrative is more than travel writing—it’s a lesson in humility, cultural competence, and health equity. We invite you to read his full essay to understand the ripple effects of community-based work. GHI places community at the center of our collaborative work.
Read Jason's GHI narrative in the Pennsylvania Gazette: Differential diagnosis: rethinking a medical career in Guatemala