- Social Innovation Fellowship
Award Year
Sophia and I created a ten-week summer program that aimed to engage Brown undergraduates in community service in Providence through Project HEALTH, a national non-profit dedicated to redefining how health care is delivered in the US. Participants volunteered at Project HEALTH’s Family Help Desk in Hasbro Children’s Hospital, where they helped low-income families navigate the existing network of resources and service providers in Rhode Island. They also served in part-time internships with local community organizations and attended weekly seminars that addressed the broader social, economic and political issues that shape the lives of low-income families in Providence.
Personal Statement
Public health has defined much of my Brown experience both inside and outside of the classroom. When I first arrived at Brown, I thought of health purely in terms of physical anatomy. The past two years have helped me develop a much more complex understanding of what it means to be healthy and how to ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to be healthy. Project HEALTH has been instrumental to this learning process. I hope that my next two years at Brown will guide me towards a particular community working to narrowing health disparities in this country, whether it be doctors or affordable housing lobbyists. My experience as a member of Project HEALTH and as a Starr fellow will forever shape how I think about the power of communities to affect social change.