Pictured from left to right: Leanne Jeong, Shashank Tiwari
Students from the UAB School of Public Health have once again been selected as Alabama Fellows within the Albert Schweitzer program. Leanne Jeong, MD/MPH candidate and Shashank Tiwari, MPH in Epidemiology candidate, are among those selected for the 2024-2025 cohort of Schweitzer Fellows. The competitive fellowship is one of thirteen active Schweitzer programs in the United States, which exists to create a pathway for emerging professionals to enter the workforce with the skills and commitment necessary to address unmet health needs.
“I am incredibly grateful to have been selected as an Albert Schweitzer fellow this year and am excited to serve my community as an aspiring healthcare professional,” said Leanne Jeong, student in the UAB Heersink School of Medicine and the UAB School of Public Health. “During my fellowship year, I desire to continue learning from individuals with diverse identities and strengthen my ability to meet a patient's unique needs while creating an inclusive, equitable and healthy community.”
Fellows will spend the next 15 months immersed in community public health projects with partner organizations. Their projects will improve the health and social well-being of their populations of choice throughout Alabama while simultaneously strengthening the students’ leadership skills. Past School of Public Health fellows’ projects have included the creation of an educational resource for parents who have lost or may soon lose a child to pediatric cancer (Kimberly Eaton, 2022-2023 fellow), a workgroup created to increase the capacity for agencies that support individuals experiencing homelessness to expand (Greer McCollum, 2020-2021 fellow), and much more. Through their projects, the fellows will continue the legacy of the organization’s namesake, physician-humanitarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer.
"Being chosen as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow fills me with immense gratitude,” said Shashank Tiwari, student in the UAB School of Public Health. “The program allows me to not only hone my skills as a future leader, but to also directly address the critical issue of health disparities within my own community. I am eager to contribute to a healthier and more equitable future for all."
Since the Alabama Fellows program was founded in 2016, seventeen students from the UAB School of Public Health have been selected as fellows.
About The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama
The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship (ASF) of Alabama is developing the next generation of healthcare professionals to serve and empower vulnerable people to live healthier lives and create healthier communities in Alabama. Since 2016, ASF of Alabama has trained 125 students who have partnered with over 77 community organizations to provide over 26,000 hours of service at a value of more than $650,000 to Alabama’s most vulnerable groups. Nationally, more than 4,000 U.S. Schweitzer Fellows have delivered nearly 750,000 hours of service to individuals and communities in need. Through its intensive one-year Fellowship program and the ongoing work of its 4,000+ Fellow for Life alumni, ASF perpetuates the legacy of physician-humanitarian and Nobel Peace laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer.