If you’ve been to the Russian Tea at Mason Hall, then you’ve seen Miriam Akhmetshin SC ’26 running around, handing out Matryoshka doll temporary tattoos, hosting a Kahoot or cookie-decorating. Akhmetshin always delivers on her events –– and she can also help deliver your baby.
This year, Akhmetshin completed her training as a full spectrum doula and a postpartum doula. A doula is a non-medical birth worker who can give physical, emotional and educational support before, during or after a person’s birth. Doulas might create a birth plan, for example, or suggest measures for pain management during labor.
Akhmetshin, an economics and art history double major, became interested in this line of work when she found out that her hometown, Washington, D.C., has one of the worst maternal health disparities in the country.
She told me that while not all students pursue the doula pathway, maternal health is an issue that often comes up in her conversations at Scripps.
“Not everyone knows what a doula is, but I’d say at Scripps at least 75 percent of people do,” Akhmetshin said. She explained that Scripps students are already “invested in women’s health” and often consume content where doulas are discussed.
Akhmetshin plans on getting a doula certification after she graduates, which would allow her to work with Medicaid clients.
“I got into this from a public health perspective, but I’m also someone who really enjoys caring for other people and being in service,” she explained. “I really felt that training as a doula was the next step.”
Being particularly aware of medical racism –– in Washington, she told me, Black women die of childbirth up to three times as much as white women –– she focuses on giving care based on “radical inclusion” and “cultural humility.”
“Doulas frequently help empower the birthing people to speak out,” Akhmetshin added.
Outside of being a doula, Akhmetshin also empowers people to speak out as a co-head of Scripps Advocates, a support resource for sexual violence survivors.
“It is by far the most meaningful thing I do here in Claremont, but also, really, in my life in general,” she said.
Recently, the Advocates have tabled at Halloween parties with Ketamine test strips and handed out drink covers at an event encouraging safe partying.
“It is by far the most meaningful thing I do here in Claremont, but also, really, in my life in general,” she said.
Before discovering public health, Akhmetshin considered pursuing a career in consulting or investment banking.
“I realized that I enjoy interacting with people too much, I enjoy serving others too much, to sit in an office doing the same thing all day,” she said.
However, she has found a way to connect the two in her economics thesis, which examines Oregon State’s Medicaid coverage of doulas.
“Though I individually believe in a people-first approach when thinking about policies, it is really important to also be able to talk about [the economic] aspect,” she said.
For her art history major, Akhmetshin is working on a separate thesis about the work of Faik Tagirov, a constructivist artist who is part of the Tatars, the largest ethnic minority in Russia.
“Sure, [art] is unrelated to my public health, but of course we’re all multifaceted people with a huge number of different interests,” she said.
Akhmetshin is Tatar herself, a part of her identity that she values deeply. As a liaison for the Pomona Russian department, she hopes to highlight “the multiplicity of the geographical regions covered under the major.”
Akhmetshin organizes the semesterly Russian Tea, which celebrates the publication of the Russian and Eastern European department’s journal “Vestnik.” There, thanks to Akhmetshin and Professor Larissa Rudova’s shopping sprees at Super King, you’re guaranteed to find an elaborate spread of food and drinks –– including traditional Russian candies that can’t be found elsewhere.
The Russian Tea is just one way that Akhmetshin enjoys bringing people together through food. At home, she cooks multi-course dinner parties for her friends, often featuring her famous spinach artichoke dip made with Greek yogurt, or her homemade pasta made with duck eggs.
“Food definitely breaks down people’s barriers and makes people more comfortable interacting with each other and sharing,” she said.
As a member of the Muslim Students Association, the power of food in creating community comes to light for Akhmetshin during Ramadan, her “favorite month here in Claremont.”
She especially appreciates the annual interfaith iftar in Edmunds Ballroom.
“It’s a really great opportunity for people who aren’t Muslim to learn about Ramadan, the significance and connect with their fellow students, because many people don’t know that we’re fasting during this time,” she said.
Akhmetshin was also able to use her interests in food and community this summer, which she spent working with the Afghan refugee community in Northern Virginia. She hosted programming including a family nutrition event and a women’s empowerment night.
She told me that a common difficulty for the Afghan mothers is accessing medical care in a different language. “Even to native English speakers, medical information is very inaccessible,” she added.
One of the things Akhmetshin did in response was distribute fact sheets about maternal nutrition in English as well as translations into Dari.
Concern over accessibility is also something that fuels Akhmetshin’s passion for art. She recognizes that art is often seen as elitist and “un-understandable.”
One of her favorite things to do is bring her friends who don’t like art to museums, and to give them thinking exercises to “build their confidence about how they interact with art.” She told me she always succeeds in changing their minds.
From a delivery room to a museum, from a masjid to a Halloween party, Akhmetshin is eager to empower the people around her.