As undergraduate students at Tuskegee University who were active in community service, Joi Chinakwe and Micah Grey saw firsthand the many challenges faced by people living in underserved areas of rural Macon County, where the university is located.

They became especially attuned to the lack of health care resources, compared to communities not too far distant, such as Montgomery and Auburn.

After the two friends graduated and began studies at the Harrison College of Pharmacy at Auburn University, they sought a way to continue the culture of service instilled in them at Tuskegee.

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, a nonprofit that equips graduate students studying health disciplines to advance health equity in the state, provided a path for the two to address an unmet need in Macon County and apply the knowledge they’ve gained in their ongoing professional studies.

“At Auburn, we were looking for an opportunity to establish a health equity project and we thought, what better place to give back than Macon County, Alabama?” said Chinakwe, 25, who grew up in Montgomery and is entering her third year of pharmacy school.

With support and guidance through the fellowship, Chinakwe and Grey created the “Junior Healthcare Leaders of Alabama” to devise and deliver an after-school, health-literacy program that they put to the test at Notasulga High School. The program helped educate adolescents there about a variety of health-related issues that plague residents in many disadvantaged and rural communities: from high blood pressure and cholesterol to diabetes and food allergies, to the challenges of eating healthy in food deserts where access to full-service grocery stores and fresh produce is limited.

From September 2022 through April 2023, Chinakwe and Grey drove to Notasulga High two afternoons a week – not only to talk about health issues, but to provide broader guidance as the students began to consider their life and career options after high school. Activities included resume preparation and practicing interviewing skills, learning how to fill out job applications and discussions about the many rewarding health-related careers that don’t require four years of college or advanced degrees.

But the bond between the two pharmacy students and the high schoolers went deeper than traditional, one-way instruction. Through game-playing, listening to music together and honest dialogue, Chinakwe and Grey became mentors to the students – building the kind of connection that opened the door to more heartfelt conversations about their hopes and desires for the future, as well as challenges they face at home, among their peers and teachers, and in their rural, underserved communities.

“We tried to be creative, to put ourselves in their shoes. We tried to get to know them as much as we could,” said Grey, 25, a third-year pharmacy student.

Micah Grey and Joi Chinakwe, wearing the white coats, were the force behind the creation of Junior Healthcare Leaders of Alabama and a health literacy program supporting students at Notasulga High School. They recently completed their project, supported by the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, but hope to their program will continue at the school for years to come. (contributed)

As the program wrapped up this spring, students completed a survey to see how much they had learned and absorbed about important health issues. The survey results showed a statistically significant increase in their knowledge – which Grey and Chinakwe believe will not only help the students by making them wiser when it comes to making healthy choices, but also benefit a much larger network of people – namely, their siblings, parents, extended families and friends – as they share what they learned.

That’s the kind of impact that Kristin Boggs, executive director of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, hopes can come from many of the projects Schweitzer fellows undertake during their time in the program.

A ‘passion for cultivating change’

Named after the famous Nobel-prize-winning physician, theologian and philosopher, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama is one of 13 Schweitzer programs operating across the United States. Those chosen for the Schweitzer fellowship – all of whom are students enrolled in Alabama graduate and professional schools – must demonstrate a “passion for cultivating change” in Alabama communities where the needs are greatest.

During the course of their fellowship, which typically lasts from 12 to 14 months, the fellows must research and identify a health-related need in an underserved area or population within Alabama, and then create a project to address it.

Fellows typically partner with nonprofits, schools, hospitals or municipalities on their projects, and have both on-site and academic mentors to help guide them. Their projects also must have the capability to maintain long-term impact.

The first class of Alabama fellows began their work in spring 2016. Since that time, 104 Schweitzer fellows have provided some 26,000 hours of service, partnering with nearly 80 community organizations in 10 Alabama counties. In the most recent class, 20 fellows undertook projects addressing a range of issues, from homelessness to mental health, from access to medications and vaccines, to rural health inequities and substance use.

Schweitzer fellows from Alabama partake in a little friendly team-building at the beginning of their fellowship. (contributed)

Boggs said funding for the Alabama program comes mainly from four partnering universities: Auburn, UAB, Montevallo and Samford, including multiple schools within those universities. Individuals, corporations, charitable organizations and philanthropic institutions, including the Alabama Power Foundation, also have provided support for the program.

She said the state program is looking to broaden its partnerships to other institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities, and to expand the number of fellows coming from rural communities or other groups typically underrepresented in service.

The 2022-23 class of the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama. (contributed)

As for the fellows, they come from a wide spectrum of disciplines, including social work, counseling and nutrition sciences, as well as medicine and pharmacy. Boggs said the fellows benefit from the diversity of knowledge within their class, as well as the knowledge, experience and results documented from projects undertaken by prior classes.

“We try to tell them when they begin: It’s a service project more than a research project,” Boggs explained. “But also, that they need to have a critical lens to evaluate, is my project making a measurable difference?

“They have to have an outcome-based approach. Will their project have an impact? How will lives be different at the end?”

‘Something … truly beautiful’

Back at Notasulga High, Chinakwe and Grey were gratified with the survey results that showed the students they mentored gained significant knowledge about the diseases and adverse health conditions affecting their community, and what steps they can take to help themselves and their loved ones live healthier lives.

But the two really felt the impact of their work when they invited the students, others from the school, the students’ families and friends to attend a “white coat ceremony” celebrating the program’s completion.

Schweitzer Fellows Micah Grey and Joi Chinakwe. (contributed)

During the program, several students made presentations to the invited guests about what they learned, demonstrating not only their newly gained health insights but an increased confidence in their public speaking abilities and communication skills.

“This has definitely been a one-of-a-kind experience for me,” Chinakwe said of the fellowship. “It’s molding my career as a pharmacy student.

“It showed me how much I enjoy interacting with patients and students,” Chinakwe added. “It really unlocked a passion, blossoming something in me that’s truly beautiful.”

Chinakwe and Grey bonded closely with Notasulga High School students who took part in the program. (contributed)

“One of the main takeaways for me is realizing how blessed I was to always be involved in some type of mentoring program; I hate that they don’t exist in some places,” said Grey, who grew up in urban Birmingham and had access to a number of mentoring opportunities.

“For me, it was cool to serve as a mentor and help build those relationships, that safe space for them,” Grey said. “It showed me just how important those relationships can be.”

In fact, Chinakwe and Grey are working to create a permanent club within the pharmacy school at Auburn. The goal: to sustain their program so it can continue to serve adolescents in Macon County for years to come, and potentially expand and serve students in other rural Alabama communities.

“We want this to live past our time,” Chinakwe said.