Aaron Libed

My name is Aaron Libed, and I am a bioengineering major at Stanford University, class of 2025. I am writing to express my heartfelt gratitude for your generous support, which made it possible for me to embark on an eye-opening and transformative experience with a healthcare organization in Manila, Philippines. 

During my time in Manila, I witnessed firsthand the heartbreaking disparities in access to medical care, especially in rural and impoverished areas. One moment that will stay with me forever was when I met a 12-year-old girl with congenital heart disease. Her condition had been left untreated since birth, and the visible struggle of her heart against her ribcage was a powerful and painful reminder of the systemic failures that leave children like her without the care they need. Despite her innocent smile and hopeful eyes, her life is tragically limited by a condition that could have been addressed with timely medical intervention. 

Seeing her reminded me of my younger sister, and I couldn't help but reflect on how differently our lives have unfolded simply because of where we were born. It’s moments like this that ignite my passion to advocate for change and ensure that no child is left untreated due to the circumstances of their birth. Your support has not only allowed me to learn and grow through this experience, but it has also deepened my sense of responsibility to contribute to solving these healthcare inequities. 

While I made significant progress in securing resources and improving patient access during my time in the Philippines, I realized that scalable, sustainable solutions require more advanced tools. This experience has inspired me to pursue a co-terminal degree in management science & engineering (MS&E) at Stanford. With the quantitative skills and strategic management methods I will gain from this program, I will be able to analyze healthcare systems more effectively, optimize resource allocation, and design scalable solutions that address systemic issues across the Philippines. Specifically, the expertise I will gain in optimization, probability, and healthcare modeling will allow me to expand the initiatives I’ve already launched, ensuring that hospitals can operate more efficiently and provide care to underserved populations on a national scale. 

This opportunity to study MS&E will equip me with the tools I need to drive real change, and I am incredibly grateful to you for supporting my journey. Once again, I thank you for making this opportunity possible and for helping me take a step closer to my goal of creating meaningful change in healthcare systems around the world.