Tawah Tamba earned her degree from Gettysburg College, where she majored in Health Sciences and minored in Theater Arts. Originally from Margibi County, a rural region of Liberia, Tawah later relocated near the capital city of Monrovia with her family. Growing up in a large household raised by a single mother, she developed a deep sense of perseverance while navigating financial obstacles that occasionally disrupted her schooling. Her passion for education kept her driven, allowing her to finish high school at the top of her class with a clear focus on creating community change.
Long before arriving on campus, Tawah was heavily involved in grassroots public health and advocacy. In Liberia, she partnered with Liberia Renewal Ministries and assisted the National Public Health Institute of Liberia with community outreach and sanitation distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic. She also ran informal workshops teaching local young women practical skills to help generate household income. Following high school, she served as a program associate for Yoner Liberia to lead youth engagement programs. Tawah is a graduate of the Young Political Leadership School of Africa and the founder and CEO of Ayuda Humanitarian Initiatives, a nonprofit she launched to improve health equity, deliver food aid, and provide resources to vulnerable groups, including orphans, physically challenged individuals, and women.
During her time at Gettysburg College, Tawah paired her passion for health advocacy with extensive campus leadership. She guided the Disciple Makers Christian Fellowship (DCF) and managed essential student operations as a coordinator for both the Campus Kitchen and the Center for Public Service. Additionally, she managed logistics for the Gettysburg African Student Association (GASA). In the spring of 2023, she expanded her global perspective by representing Togo on the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice at the Future We Want Model UN Summit. In the local community, she spent her free time volunteering at WellSpan Gettysburg Hospital across patient support and guest relations.
Tawah frequently channeled her college education directly back into her home country. During her 2025 summer break, she launched and executed her SHE-CAN Make a Change campaign in Liberia. The program addressed menstrual hygiene barriers by teaching local women entrepreneurship skills and showing them how to manufacture reusable, eco-friendly sanitary products.
Reflecting on her growth, Tawah noted that earning the opportunity to be a SHE-CAN scholar completely shifted her trajectory. She pointed to the tight-knit, collaborative network at Gettysburg as the catalyst that allowed her to turn her lived experiences into a life dedicated to global service. Moving forward, she plans to build on this foundation by designing health education programs that uplift young women, improve community-wide medical outcomes, and prevent early marriage and teen pregnancy.
