It's late on the rainy night of Sunday, August 14, and senior Priya Sharma has stepped into her off-campus house for the first time in three days. The community health and economics major has been on the go since 6 a.m. Friday morning, when she left Somerville for Pittsfield, Mass. - the starting point of the Mass. Red Ribbon Ride.
The Ride, now in its second year, is a weekend-long, 175-mile bike ride put on by organizations which promote HIV/AIDS education and awareness and provide treatment. Sharma spent her summer working with the AIDS Action Committee of Mass to help orchestrate the Ride.
The last 72 hours have been the payoff, making sure her pet project runs smoothly.
It hasn't been easy. Sharma has gone without a shower for two days, and her clothes are drenched with rain. But the look on Sharma's face isn't one of frustration or disgust. It's one of satisfaction - exhausted, soaking-wet satisfaction.
"Without the money these events raise, many of these organizations would have to shut down or cut down on the programs and services they offer to the thousands of people that rely on them," she says.
Sharma's not exaggerating: according to HIV Surveillance, a Center for Disease Control and Prevention report, more than 21,000 Mass. residents have HIV/AIDS - only two-thirds of whom are aware that they are infected. Between two and four Mass. residents are infected with HIV daily, and people aged 13 to 24 make up a disproportionately large portion of the newly-infected population.
With these statistics driving her, Sharma's commitment to public health remains unshakeable - even when she can count the hours of sleep she's gotten over the past three nights on one hand.
"I've always been interested in health and social justice," says the Washington, D.C. native. "I actually started off pre-med but got sick of science and decided to try public health. I'm still dealing with the same issues, just looking at it from a different perspective - a much more interesting perspective, in my opinion!"
In her time at Tufts, Sharma has made it her mission to broaden her own perspective - as well as others' - on HIV/AIDS. She is a member of Tufts HIV/AIDS Collaborative (THAC), and she spent last summer at the Institute for National Public Health in Cuernava, Mexico, where she researched "donor funding to developing nations to support their AIDS programs," she says. She presented her findings last fall at the AIDS Cocktail, an event sponsored by THAC.
Sharma's AIDS-related activities this summer were less theoretical. "It's a tough sell to try and get someone to raise money and train for a 175-mile bike ride!" laughs Sharma.
When she initially decided to work with AIDS Action over the summer, Sharma thought she'd be involved in research and education efforts rather than fundraising ones. "This is definitely not what I had planned when I decided to work at AIDS Action," she says.
But Sharma's not complaining. "I learned a lot about putting on an event like this, a useful skill which I'm sure will come in handy," she says. "I also learned how important fundraising events like these are to organizations like AIDS Action."
Sharma adds that she "did ultimately enjoy every minute" of her time working with the organization. "I loved the people that I was working with: the staff, the volunteers, the interns," she says. "And," she adds, "the riders, who were some of the most inspirational and dedicated people that I have ever worked with."
Riders didn't have to be Lance Armstrong in order to participate. Two-day riders mixed in those doing shorter distances -- including 75 miles on the first day or 50 or 100 miles on the second day.
"Virtual riders" could also participate this year. "They didn't have to train and ride, but they agreed to raise a certain amount of funds," Sharma says.
Sharma estimates the Ride brought in between $200,000 and $300,000 for AIDS Action and 11 other organizations.
She describes her whole internship experience as "amazing and rewarding," but for Sharma, one moment in particular stands out. "Seeing the riders ride out the first morning was probably the most rewarding experience," she says. "That first ride out brought tears to my eyes - not only seeing my three months of hard work come to life, but also to see all these people dedicated to the same cause that I was coming together."
