Walden University Ph.D. Student Attends Fifth Annual Clinton Global Initiative University – Raquel Battle is one of six students selected to represent Laureate International Universities
Raquel Battle, a Walden University Ph.D. in Health Services student specializing in Healthcare Administration from Raleigh, N.C., participated in the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting March 30 to April 1 at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C. She was one of six students representing institutions in the Laureate International Universities network who were selected to attend based on their leadership skills, commitment to social change and academic track record.
Battle, along with the other LIU participants, completed a CGI U Commitment to Action pledge to contribute to the greater good. “The Clinton Global Initiative University offered ‘hope’ to realize my commitment to build the Edlin Leslie Sr. Hospice in Belize, Central America, and to establish a Belizean Educational Association for Treatment of Cancer (BEAT),” she said. “The skill sessions offered practical solutions to many of the existing challenges that I face in utilizing social media and in building practical partnerships with a focus on my CGI U commitment.”
A native of Belize with dual citizenship in the United States, Battle is working to provide treatment options, advocacy and awareness of cancer in Belize. She met personally with President Clinton at the event to share her commitment to make a difference. “The CGI U experience was priceless. I left feeling refreshed with creative ideas and hope for the future of hospice in Belize, Central America,” she said.
More than 1,000 students participated in this year’s CGI U, which is organized annually to educate and motivate young people to make a positive impact in the world. The event offered panel discussions and skill-building sessions on the meeting’s focus areas of education, environment and climate change, peace and human rights, poverty alleviation and public health. The attendees also took part in a community service project held in conjunction with Rebuilding Together and the United Service Organizations (USO) to refurbish homes for low-income families in Washington, D.C.
About Walden University
For more than 40 years, Walden University has supported working professionals in achieving their academic goals and making a greater impact in their professions and their communities. Today, more than 48,500 students from all 50 states and more than 140 countries are pursuing their bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral degrees online at Walden. The university provides students with an engaging educational experience that connects them with expert faculty and peers around the world. Walden is the flagship online university in the Laureate International Universities network—a global network of more than 55 campus-based and online universities in 28 countries.
About Raquel Battle
In 2007, Mrs. Battle’s father, Mr. Edlin Leslie Sr. lost his battle with prostate cancer. While undergoing treatment in Mexico, he suffered immensely. Without cancer treatment facilities in Belize, Edlin had no place to turn. Edlin’s dying wish was to establish a hospice in Belize. Mrs. Battle, his youngest daughter, promised to make his wish come true, even naming the hospice after her dad. Today, Belize has its first hospice care center (not only in Belize but in Central America) called the Edlin Leslie Sr. Hospice and Home Care Center. Mrs. Battle, is also president and founder of a nonprofit called The Blissfulsage Foundation, a 501 (c) 3 in the United States.
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