Five Vermont Law School students are among the 2015-16 class of Albert Schweitzer Fellows who will develop and implement service projects to tackle health inequities in underserved communities.
Following the example set by famed physician-humanitarian Albert Schweitzer, for whom the program is named, VLS students Jessica Bullock '17, Ana Cimino '17, Catlin Davis '17, Ivy Garlow '16 and Yaunek Murray '17 will spend the next year learning to effectively address social factors that influence health. They are among 30 graduate students from Vermont and New Hampshire who will join the ranks of Schweitzer Fellows working at program sites across the United States and in Lambaréné, Gabon, at the site of the Albert Schweitzer Hospital.
Schweitzer Fellows fulfill their academic responsibilities as full-time students while designing and implementing unique service projects to address the root causes of health disparities in under-resourced communities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based organization. Below are the project summaries for the 2015-16 Vermont Law School Schweitzer Fellows:
- Jessica Bullock: Jessica will work to provide public speaking and debate-training programs to inmates incarcerated in Vermont. The SPEAK Prison Debate Initiative's six-week debate program utilizes debate as a tool for teaching professional and personal public speaking and presentation skills. Community Site: Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility
- Ana Cimino: Ana will work with a prevention-based youth program to empower and cultivate the leadership skills of local youth in Morrisville, Vermont (host organization was Clarina Howard Nichols Center). The program delivered its curriculum through various modalities, including art, dance, and writing.
- Catlin Davis: Catlin will provide in-home support to new mothers in order to prevent postpartum depression. Her project matches new mothers with community volunteers who help with basic tasks so the new mother can care for her own needs. Community Site: Good Beginnings of Central Vermont
- Ivy Garlow: Working with the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program, Ivy will engage with newly resettled refugees in Vermont. This project will entail developing and presenting cultural integration materials, including basic domestic law information, in refugees' native languages. Community Site: Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program
- Yaunek Murray: Yaunek's project aims to address physical and mental health needs of seniors and the elderly through low-impact fitness and group activities. Methods used will be cardiovascular and stretching exercises, dancing, meditation and group-selected games. Community Site: Southwestern Vermont Council on Aging
Fellows work under the close guidance of community and academic mentors during their fellowship year.
"The Schweitzer Fellowship is a unique opportunity for service-minded students to develop leadership skills while addressing critical issues facing Vermont communities," said Laura Murphy, Schweitzer advisor and assistant professor of law at VLS. "The skills they develop in this mission-driven work will serve them well throughout their legal careers and will be a tribute to Albert Schweitzer's legacy. We at Vermont Law School look forward to witnessing all that these impressive students accomplish in the coming year."
Since 1996, the New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program has supported more than 450 students in delivering nearly 70,000 hours of service. The program is funded entirely through charitable donations and grants. For more information about the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship, visit www.schweitzerfellowship.org/chapters/nhvt.