Thadford Dickerson and Paula Schuman Scholar Award

It's the year 2025 and we have self-driving cars, robot vacuums, digital personal assistants (Hello, Siri and Alexa!), yet disparities in healthcare access and health literacy among minorities remain a significant challenge right in our own communities. Language barriers, cultural differences, and mistrust of the healthcare system have led to poor health outcomes for many minorities that are our fellow neighbors and citizens. If I could address this alongside historical figures that I admire, I would form a task force with Florence Nightingale, Mary Seacole, and Mary Eliza Mahoney. These three pioneering women whose expertise remains highly relevant today. Florence Nightingale’s knowledge of hygiene and public health would be invaluable. As the well-known mother of modern nursing, her work in improving sanitary practices dramatically reduced infection rates. We nursing students today still study her techniques and ideas! Nightingale’s commitment to education and evidence-based care would help create programs to teach minority communities about preventative care and hygiene, empowering them to make informed health decisions. Mary Seacole, a Jamaican-born healer, would bring a culturally sensitive approach. Her expertise in traditional remedies and her ability to gain trust during the Crimean War highlight the importance of respecting cultural practices in healthcare. Integrating traditional remedies with modern treatments could help bridge cultural gaps and increase many minorities or disadvantaged individuals' trust in healthcare providers, encouraging patients to engage more confidently with the system and feel comfortable taking charge of their own health and wellness. Mary Eliza Mahoney, the first African American licensed nurse, would be the perfect member to round out my task force. Mahoney would play a key role to increase diversity in healthcare by bringing her firs-person-lived-experience to the table. Mahoney’s work as a huge change maker and ground breaker for racial equality in nursing and higher education for Black women would inspire and support more individuals from minority backgrounds to pursue healthcare careers. The success of one can be the inspiration for many! Promoting diversity in the healthcare sphere would create a more inclusive healthcare system where patients feel understood, seen, represented, and most importantly- believed. As a Spanish-speaking Black nursing student and a mother of two young children, I understand the challenges minority communities face in accessing healthcare. I also am one semester away from becoming the first college graduate of my family as I become a Registered Nurse. The combined strengths of Nightingale, Seacole, and Mahoney would address very crucial challenges I personally observe and experience through education, cultural sensitivity, and increased representation. The expertise and guidance of these three incredible women would empower minority communities to take control of their health and create lasting improvements in healthcare access and literacy. While I know this task force is only fictional, it is my goal and dream to continue carrying their torch (or, better said, nurse's lantern) as I persevere into my own journey of nursing to be the change I wish to see in my community!

My name is Sydney McAdams, and I am from a small community called Davie County, in North Carolina. The county has 44,000 residents most of which are born, raised, and live there throughout their adult lives. Many of Davie County’s residents struggle with drug addiction, such as meth and heroin use. Many are prosecuted and thrown into jail for their crimes. In my opinion, this only accelerates the usage of drugs due to withdrawals. I propose a new program for the Davie County community which would provide drug users a creative outlet to prevent relapse and continued drug usage. This program would take an old (county-owned building) warehouse and turn it into a creative hub. The building would serve as a space where addicts can go to find outlets to prevent relapse. Such services and activities would include, community service, an arts division for creative expression, culinary experience and training, a class on job interviews, applications, and job hiring in the area, and a shelter for those who need temporary 24/7 help to combat their addiction. The community service would allow people to band together to complete much-needed projects in the community while providing an outlet and a strong community for those in need. An arts division would allow creative expression for addicts to visualize and express their struggles. The artwork can be put up for sale to incentivize the community to fund the arts program. The arts division would also include things such as welding and other art forms to increase expression amongst program members. A culinary experience class would provide free meals to those in need in the community while teaching the basics of culinary practice to assist in job placement for those in the program. The class on job applications, interviews, and job hiring would provide project members with help and guidance during the job application process. The project members would be able to get help formatting and editing their resumes and preparing for upcoming interviews. The shelter portion of the program would provide temporary housing to help addicts get back on their feet. It would teach temporary residents skills such as cooking, cleaning, healthy habits, mental health tips, and much more. Altogether, I believe if a program like this existed in Davie County, there would be a healthy impact on the community overall and a tremendous drop in drug-related charges and deaths that haunt the community.

A creative solution to a social issue in my community could be an integrated hands-on learning curriculum. As a substitute teacher who is pursuing higher education, I have noticed in my community especially, that students do not feel that school is for them. Or they believe that what they are learning will not help them in the "real world". Designing a curriculum that integrates every-day life into academics could help students feel more engaged or show them different career paths they may have not considered. For instance, incorporate nutrition education into science classes, or teaching math through budgeting and financial literacy. Offering hands-on activities that engage students and make learning fun. This could include community gardening to teach about nutrition and sustainability or an established mentorship program where older students can mentor younger students. In the community I reside, it is often that I will hear students say that the way that they act or go about a situation is due to others they have seen around them. Changing that narrative and having a younger child or student whom looks up to them for guidance and support could aid in better leadership skills and a sense of purpose. Where these students can see that they are in an low-income area facing education disparities, crime and violence integrating a hands-on learning experience in the community can also affect parents. By teaching and showing students that there are other paths you can take, workshops for the community can also aid in students feeling excited to come to school. These workshops could partner with local health care providers and offer vaccinations and check-ups for families who otherwise may not be able to visit a health clinic. They could also consist of workshops on topics such as, financial management, parenting skills, and health education. This helps create a supportive family network and get parents involved on what their children would be learning in school. Outside of the school sector, students need community engagement regardless of what school or area they reside. Partnering with a local community college could give parents and students access to different courses, certifications, or higher education courses they may be able to take and in turn set an example for those whom look up to them. I believe that incorporating some or even all of what is mentioned above, would be a creative solution to the issue of poverty, education disparities, crime and violence in my community.