Overview

The 2023-24 Schweitzer Fellows include 28 outstanding students representing 12 schools, 9 disciplines, and 18 academic programs. The Program’s interdisciplinary approach exposes students to real-world inter-professional collaborative care. Each of the Fellows will design and implement year-long projects to address a variety of urgent health needs (including social determinants of health) facing Chicago’s underserved communities.

_________________

Oluwamuyiwa Winifred Adebayo, Rush University, Medicine

Oluwamuyiwa proposes to develop a multimodal educational intervention for African American/Black adults living with cardiovascular diseases. This educational intervention will promote self-management and wellness and facilitate tertiary prevention.

_________________

Viviana Aguayo,Rush University, Nursing

Viviana will focus her project on medically underserved Latino communities to address inequalities and barriers to healthcare. Her project will revolve around children to increase health and nutritional literacy to address inequalities.

_________________

Syeda Akila Ally, University of Illinois, Medicine

Akila proposes to initiate nutrition and chronic disease prevention classes for South Asian immigrant women. The classes will dispel myths about chronic diseases and provide social support and community connections.

_________________

Ruth Londono Alzate, Rosalind Franklin University, Medicine

Ruth proposes to initiate a healthy lifestyle and empowerment program for at-risk youth that come from financial struggles. The program will provide educational seminars and leadership courses to youth. This program will empower these youth to believe in themselves and positively impact their community.

_________________

Karyn Byrne, National Louis University, Community Psychology

Karyn is passionate about establishing safe, accessible spaces where community members can receive social support regarding weight wellness. The weekly meetings to be offered will provide education on topics chosen by community members and social support to promote healing and a sense of community.

_________________

Ivana Chmielewski, North Park University, Nursing and Business

Through collaboration with Swedish Hospital, Ivana will develop literacy education with a focus on mental health and social determinants of health to provide transcultural nursing resources that empower the community of immigrants, refugees, minority, and unhoused individuals in a safe community space.

_________________

Sydney Cush, Northwestern University, Medicine

By working with community health clinics, Sydney hopes to develop culturally relevant educational materials and a curriculum that will educate black women on reproductive health topics such as endometriosis and self-advocacy in the doctor’s office.

_________________

Celeste Guzman, University of Illinois, Pharmacy

Celeste proposes to initiate mental health workshops for the underserved communities of Chicago. Workshops will empower community members to address mental health concerns in their daily lives and continue developing resilience.

_________________

Leah Hoeniges, Rush University, Nursing

Leah plans to implement training courses to help empower and strengthen women’s cancer advocates and survivors. These trainings will provide community leaders with the resources to promote health education classes, screenings, treatment options, and survivorship opportunities to the public.

_________________

Kai Holder, Northwestern University, Medicine and Public Health

Kai’s project is a Parent Readiness Psycho-Education Program that hosts educational seminars focused on self-agency and empowerment for young pregnant and postpartum women.

_________________

Chinasa Imo, University of Chicago, Social and Health Policy

Chinasa is interested in reducing disparities in access to care for women and youths facing domestic abuse/violence in Chicago. Her Project will create a safe space support program where women and youths facing violent abuse can receive tailored, wrap-around support to help them overcome their vulnerabilities.

_________________

Preetham Kastury, University of Chicago, Medicine

Preetham proposes to create a longitudinal community-based curriculum for older adults in the South Side of Chicago focusing on topics surrounding digital equity (digital well-being, access, safety, literacy etc.). Preetham’s project will be in collaboration with the SHARE (Supporting Healthy Aging Resources & Education) Network.

_________________

Julia Kavanagh, Midwestern University, Medicine

Julia will partner with the LYDIA Home to address the poor health outcomes of children in the foster care system. Through education activities and self-empowerment, this project will work to combat early health disadvantages and improve the health literacy of Chicago’s foster care youth.

_________________

Tyler Linder, Rush University, Medicine

Tyler is facilitating a community educational program through Rush University and Project sWish Chicago for underserved youth affected by gang violence. Project sWish hosts basketball tournaments during times of high gang violence and by working together this program will educate children about mental/physical health and provide information regarding health care.

_________________

Jacqueline Lueken, Loyola University Chicago, Social Work

Jacque proposes to facilitate support groups for Caregivers and Supporters of loved ones who have been diagnosed with a chronic illness or disease using arts integration. These groups will provide a space for those who are often the last to ask for help or support a space to make connections, share their hardships and experiences, and find a much needed reprieve from being the “one leaned on” in order to help them continue to be there fully for their loved ones.

_________________

Paige Madden, Midwestern University, Dentistry and Public Health

Paige’s proposed project involves making sure that senior citizens in our community benefit from the preventative measures of health.

_________________

Sahar Al-Najjar, Adler University, Clinical Psychology

Sahar values advocating for diverse communities and uplifting the narratives and lived experiences of marginalized identities who have often been underrepresented. Sahar proposes to initiate a therapy support group for BIPOC individuals from marginalized backgrounds who seek trauma-informed mental health support. The therapy group will serve as a social support for individuals who do not have equitable mental health resources within their community.

_________________

Angela Olivar, University of Illinois Chicago, Dentistry

Angela proposes to raise awareness about the importance of oral healthcare, providing educational sessions and to address factors that limit Latino communities in seeking continuous oral healthcare services.

_________________

Simon Park, Loyola University, Medicine

Simon will lead a self-advocacy medical training program for blind and visually impaired (BVI) residents at the Friedman Place in Northwest side of Chicago. This effort will equip BVI adults with knowledge in basic medical terms and communication skills to advocate for improved health and wellness.

_________________

Evan Patel, Rush University, Medicine

Evan plans to improve the accessibility of otolaryngology care for Chicago’s homeless population through the development of free in-person and telemedicine clinics. These clinics are a small but important step in dismantling preexisting barriers that homeless populations face in receiving quality healthcare.

_________________

Saira Rasheed, DePaul University, Nursing

Saira proposes to initiate fitness programs and education to children and families with disabilities through weekly workout classes combined with nutrition teachings. These classes will create a community of health and fitness in the specials needs population and foster a renewed sense of self-esteem.

_________________

Fatima Rasoul, Loyola University, Social Work

Fatima proposes to develop a program to provide social supports for refugee and immigrant mothers. Her program foci are maternal education and mental health support to promote maternal and child health, as well as providing support to diminish the bureaucratic barriers preventing access to social welfare programs.

_________________

Ambika Seshadri, DePaul University, Nursing

Ambika proposes to establish or expand prenatal support programming at a clinic on the South Side of Chicago that serves African American women. The program curriculum will provide health screening, education to promote health literacy and self-advocacy, and social support.

_________________

Chirag Shah, Midwestern University, Medicine

Chirag proposes a medical literacy program that serves non-English speaking Spanish residents. The program will provide information on accessing healthcare and understanding individual health.

_________________

Michelle Soans, DePaul University, Research Psychology

Michelle proposes to implement resilience building workshops at Alcott College Prep High School. The workshops will provide students with practice based coping strategies, mental wellness education and resources, as well as career development tools, to lower stress levels and improve student mental health.

_________________

Alexander Wang, University of Chicago, Medicine

Alex plans to work with the Coalition for a Better Chinese American Community to sustain and expand upon the Origin Youth Program, a youth-led program that empowers high school students to develop and carry out civic engagement projects of their choosing. This project will support students in the Origin Youth Program as they develop their sense of identity.

_________________

Jason Xiao, University of Chicago, Medicine

Jason’s project centers on raising awareness on health disparities in visual health, organizing low-cost vision screenings and referrals. He will develop an educational curriculum for members of the Bridgeport/Chinatown communities to be better equipped to take charge of their visual and systemic health.

_________________

Karen Yuan, Loyola University, Medicine

Karen will partner with the Center on Halsted to address the unique aging challenges and caregiving needs of LGBTQ+ older adults. She will implement healthy aging initiatives that increase visibility in LGBTQ+ aging, foster intergenerational connection, and connect seniors and their caregivers with community assets so that more LGBTQ+ older adults will have the support and resources to live life to the fullest.