Real impact driven by Your generosity

“Being a Schweitzer Fellow shaped me into becoming an advocate for those living with HIV/AIDS and led me to a career in community health. While I was a dental student, my ASF project introduced me to Avenue 360 Health and Wellness, a health center focused on serving the HIV community of Houston. In turn, this was my first job as a dentist out of school. Fast-forward 8 years, and I now serve as the Director of Dentistry for this health center.”

“The most unexpected outcome of my time as a Schweitzer Fellow is how much I grew in a year…. my perspective on everything has changed. I am more ready to make a real impact, even though I now understand the amount of effort and perseverance it takes. Everyone who has the opportunity to be touched by the Schweitzer Fellowship will forever be grateful. It has changed my life.”

“ASF showed me the importance of community engagement. As a data scientist by training, I thought numbers and statistics were the best way of making an impact in healthcare. I now realize that — though data is an excellent tool — community-driven activities and relationships are fundamental to driving change and innovation in healthcare. I have learned how to build trust and what it takes to create a community. In this way, as I pursue a career in healthcare, I will work to be responsive to community needs and work beyond data to improve health. “

“My ASF experience continues to shape how I engage with every community – leading with humility, emphasizing partnership over prescription, and striving for impact that reflects the needs and strengths of those we serve”

“My time as a Schweitzer Fellow had a profound and lasting impact on my career as a physical therapist. It was the first experience that pushed me beyond traditional clinical roles and challenged me to build a sustainable community health initiative from the ground up…. The fellowship helped me understand that systemic issues require systemic solutions, and it equipped me with the confidence and skill set to speak directly with policymakers to advance a more equitable world. The fellowship did not just shape my career trajectory. It grounded my purpose and continues to guide the way I show up for patients, students, and communities.”

“I am proud to say that I am a Schweitzer Fellow for Life. Because of the Schweitzer Fellowship, I was able to grow a mentoring relationship with my Schweitzer project site mentor, which led to ongoing collaboration even after the Fellowship year was over. Plus I am proud to say that my site organization, the SASHA Center in Detroit, integrated my Schweitzer project into their therapy offerings. What I really hold dear to my heart is that the work I did through the Fellowship was not only honored locally by the community, but nationally too. This Fellowship connected me to an incredibly meaningful work opportunity at the National Center on Violence Against Black Women and has fundamentally shaped my career trajectory”.

“As an FFL, I have been invited to speak at ASF events and network with like-minded leaders and people who want to make a difference. The biggest lesson I learned is that the sign of a healthy organization is one that can function without its founder.” Leslie’s Schweitzer project is the longest-running one to date. Read more here.

“At the time, the impact of this experience was that it alerted to me to how much I enjoyed thinking about how to make medical care applicable and practical to people living in an entirely different culture and context from my own. This new awareness led me to take a job with Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program in 1996 after I completed residency. The interest I took in homeless health care grew out of the Schweitzer Fellowship, and it drove me forward into the next 25 years of clinical work and research focused on populations that are often given the short end of the stick in health care, including people who are homeless and patients with long-term pain. It also formed a long-lasting friendship with Saul Weiner, the other medical student who was an Albert Schweitzer Fellow with me (sweiner@uic.edu).”