Tanya Ambrose is already a public health professional. The outreach specialist for Prisma Health
Midlands Healthy Start founded Scrub Life Cares in 2020 – leading the nonprofit through the pandemic. An international organization
that provides menstrual products to support health hygiene, Scrub Life Cares was borne
out of Ambrose’s study abroad experience while she was public health student at Georgia
State University.
“While I was in Uganda, I saw that people really needed basic items to carry out their
day-to-day living activities,” she says. “I told myself I would create an organization
aimed at giving back to communities that lacked resources for children to go to school
and be actively engaged.”
After returning to Atlanta, Ambrose looked into her own community and that of Antigua
and Barbuda, where she lived until the age of 19, to assess the often-invisible gaps
in basic necessities that she had discovered abroad. She learned that due to the cost
of sanitary napkins, many people in her own communities struggled to afford the essentials.
In the past two years, the Scrub Life Cares team has distributed more than 5,000 menstrual
products to over one hundred women. They also provide hygiene kits and back packs
and launched a community-based program to educate menstruators and remove stigma related
to periods and hygiene. At their annual expos, they provide interactive health education
for children and adults as well as hygiene and self-care items.
This work culminated in a film, A Look into Period Poverty that was screened at the American Public health Association’s annual meeting this
past fall.
“In a world where basic needs include food, water, shelter and clothing, the film
challenges us to expand that list to include menstrual hygiene products and dismantle
stigmas by shedding light on the hidden struggles of menstruators,” Ambrose says.
“It is a call for a more inclusive society, and our goal is to break the silence,
raise awareness and make menstrual health a fundamental right."
In the midst of this journey, Ambrose completed her bachelor’s degree, gained experience
as a community behavioral counselor and helped fight the COVID-19 pandemic as a case
investigator and call/response center representative. She also became a birth and
postpartum doula.
“USC consistently stood out as a top-tier institution with a distinguished reputation
in public health,” Ambrose says. “I was confident that the Arnold School's commitment
to addressing pressing public health issues within a rigorous academic environment
would equip me with the knowledge and skills to contribute significantly to improving
maternal and child health outcomes.”
In addition to the academic appeal, she was drawn to the university’s warmth. Ambrose
observed a strong sense of support among faculty and students and meaningful connections
with the broader community. Having carefully assessed the needs of surrounding areas,
she has decided to extend Scrub Life Cares’ services into the Midlands.
After graduating in 2025, Ambrose plans to use her public health degrees to drive
positive changes in women’s health and reproductive issues. She intends to use lessons
learned from her Arnold School programs to implement evidence-based strategies and
foster community engagement to overcome challenges in these areas.
“Success often demands perseverance, and every challenge is an opportunity for growth
and improvement,” Ambrose advises students considering a similar path. “The journey
may not always be smooth, but every effort invested will eventually lead to success
in realizing your aspirations and positively impacting the community you seek to serve.
Embrace the process, and always remember your why.”