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HWS News

30 September 2026 HWS Day of Donors: Meet Juliza Ariza ’27

HWS Day of Donors, a 24-hour giving challenge, kicks off Oct. 6. In this series of stories, meet six students whose pivotal HWS experiences were made possible through support from the Annual Fund. Here, Julia Ariza ’27 reflects on her scholarship and global healthcare internships.  

For Juliza Ariza ’27, financial support made an HWS education possible. Since arriving on campus, relationships with faculty and hands-on experiences around the world have helped her discover where that opportunity could lead.

HWS Day of Donors is Oct. 6-7. Make your gift here. 

A biology major and Latin American studies minor from Chicago, Ariza came to HWS through the Posse Scholarship program. As a first-generation college student, she says the opportunity to attend HWS was life changing.

At HWS, Ariza found professors who challenged her academically while helping her explore the many possibilities within healthcare. She also found opportunities to experience the field firsthand.

Last summer, Ariza received the Charles H. Salisbury Summer International Internship Award, which provided nearly $15,000 in funding for a six-week physician shadowing program in Greece and Italy. She spent more than 20 hours each week in hospitals, observing physicians across six specialties, including general surgery, emergency medicine, plastic surgery and obstetrics and gynecology.

Here, Juliza Ariza '27 joins other HWS Gift of Life interns in the Dominican Republic where they joined local health care teams providing life-saving cardiac care for children with congenital heart defects.

This summer, Ariza continued exploring medicine through an internship with Gift of Life in the Dominican Republic. There, she shadowed physicians and observed pediatric cardiac surgeries at the country’s only hospital performing cardiac surgery on children.

“HWS has given me so many opportunities to explore different healthcare careers and figure out what path is right for me,” Ariza says. “I never could have imagined having access to these experiences four years ago.”

Together, her coursework, faculty mentorship and international experiences have helped Ariza turn an interest in healthcare into a clearer vision for her future. They have also shaped the way she thinks about the support that made those opportunities possible.

“The support I've received has inspired me to want to give back one day so future students can have these same life-changing experiences,” Ariza says.

Gifts to the HWS Annual Fund designated for Greatest Need provide immediate, unrestricted support that allows Hobart and William Smith to direct resources where they can have the greatest impact and respond when new opportunities arise. Make your gift here.