Meet the 2025-26 Columbus-Athens Schweitzer Fellows!

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Community partner: Hilltop Free Clinic

Intertwining personal heritage and community bonds, Noor and Sara are dedicated to supporting the student-run Hilltop Free Clinic to create a more holistic health services landscape. They aim to address the multifaceted needs of the clinic by collaborating with established community organizations, providing information regarding social services in multiple languages, and increasing health literacy through their foundational efforts.

The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy
Community partner: Riverview International Center

Shivani and Maelyn are partnering with Riverview International Center to address and mitigate challenges faced by new immigrants to the Columbus area, with a special focus on language, costs, and health education. Accessibility is an important aspect of positive health outcomes, especially for vulnerable populations such as new immigrants. Shivani and Maelyn will work towards helping these folks navigate the complexities of the US healthcare system by answering any healthcare related queries for folks who walk into the center and triaging them to alternate services as needed.

The Ohio State University College of Medicine and The Ohio State University College of Optometry
Community partners: Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio, Prevent Blindness Ohio

Christiana and Michelle are working with Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio (BCCO) to establish regular vision screenings and education sessions about eye care. Through partnerships with BCCO and Prevent Blindness Ohio, they will seek to work through barriers of language and affordability to bring increased accessibility to potentially life-changing vision care. Long term, they will transition into a mobile screening clinic model that serves the many refugee and immigrant communities in Columbus.

The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Community Partner: Moms2B

Devi and Anand are partnering with Moms2B to support new and expectant mothers in Columbus facing healthcare challenges due to financial barriers, limited health literacy, and competing demands. Their project, MOMentum, provides healthcare literacy education through in-person sessions to facilitate enrollment in programs like Medicaid and CHIP, and helps participants navigate health insurance complexities. MOMentum also includes a "Life Coach" initiative, offering one-on-one guidance to help mothers manage life goals. By combining group education with personalized support, MOMentum aims to increase public program enrollment, build trust with healthcare providers, and improve maternal and infant health outcomes. Additionally, Anand and Devi developed the SmileChild iOS app to deliver health education and connect users to community resources, reinforcing MOMentum's lessons and providing ongoing support.

Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine
Community partners: MaryHaven and Columbus Alternative High School

Ronak and Sofia are working with MaryHaven and Columbus Alternative High School to improve access to substance use disorder awareness and harm reduction resources for students in central Columbus. By combining harm reduction information sessions with real-life accounts from individuals who have experienced substance use disorders, they hope to increase student awareness about the drug epidemic in Ohio. Their goal is to establish partnerships with all Columbus City high schools to implement harm reduction efforts at a district-wide level.

The Ohio State University College of Medicine
Community partners: The Ohio State Wexner Medical Centers Healthy Community Center and Urban Aging Residents Coalition

Rheanna and Isaac are working with The Ohio State Wexner Medical Centers Healthy Community Center and Urban Aging Residents Coalition to promote nutrition, health literacy, and community wellness among Columbus older adults. Rheanna and Isaac will host cooking classes, interactive workshops, and foster community-wide dialogue on diabetes, heart health, gut health, injury prevention, Medicare enrollment, and other community member-identified topics of interest. Their goal is to help mitigate health literacy-related barriers and empower community members with vital information to promote positive lifestyle behaviors and healthy aging.