At its core, the Tramuto Foundation is about collaboration. We believe in the power of bringing together people of diverse backgrounds, ideas, and experiences to find solutions to the big challenges we face in our global society.

It’s in that spirit that Donato Tramuto created a scholarship fund for international students completing their Masters in Public Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. The scholarships help students complete their studies and prepare them for a successful career in global public health.

The first recipient of the scholarship, Colombia-native Maria Bustos Márquez, graduated in May 2018 with concentrations in healthcare management and pharmaceuticals. Upon graduation, Maria has returned to Colombia, where she volunteers in her spare time to develop projects around awareness of chronic pain as a pressing public health issue in a war-torn country that has left many residents at high-risk of developing this disabling condition.

For Maria, collaboration is more than an idea – it’s central to her work. A former medical doctor who sought a way to make a larger impact on her country, Maria now brings together healthcare executives, managers, patients, and pharmaceutical executives to find ways to improve the health and well-being of people in Colombia. She acknowledges the skepticism and mistrust that can exist at first among those involved but believes that the only way to bring about real change and improve the health of the people she serves is through partnership.

“I’m a fierce believer in collaboration,” Maria says. “It’s the thing I really appreciate about Donato Tramuto and what he believes in. We need to be able to overcome our own preconceptions, be willing to sit at the table and connect with each other.”

Maria received her award from the Tramuto Foundation at the end of her first year at BUSPH. While the funding allowed her to help finance her education, for Maria, the real value was the recognition of her hard work and dedication.

“For me, the award was motivation,” she says. “I took a risk going to Boston to do this program, to go and fight for my dream. It’s nice to realize that when you’re doing the work you love and are passionate about, good things come along. It’s an incredible feeling.”

Donato is proud to continue his support for international students studying at BUSPH. There, students from 49 countries around the world receive a world-class education that prepares them for a career in public health. They graduate with the tools they need to transform communities here in the United States and across the globe.

“The Tramuto Foundation provides support for students to join us who otherwise would never have had the opportunity to receive public health training. This is a gift that keeps on giving: Not only do these students go on to have a career that helps others, creating a better world, they also enrich the lives of all our other students, bringing a diversity of perspectives to our community that elevates us all,” says BUSPH Dean Sandro Galea.