Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health student Anvita Kulkarni, SM ’16, is one of 16 graduate students named to this year’s class of Boston Schweitzer Fellows, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship announced May 12, 2015. Fellows develop and implement service projects that address the root causes of health inequities in under-resourced communities, while also fulfilling their academic responsibilities. Each project is implemented in collaboration with a community-based health or social service organization.
Kulkarni will be conducting an assessment at the YWCA in Cambridge, Mass., to understand the health needs of women and girls who use its services, and to determine how the organization can best meet these needs. She also will be supporting existing health programming for women of color, and working to create safe spaces where women can discuss health issues and access resources and information. More broadly, Kulkarni also will be exploring how the organization can work toward its vision of eliminating racism and empowering women.
Kulkarni said, “I see the Schweitzer Fellowship as an opportunity to transform my public health lessons outside of the classroom. I want to challenge myself to learn from people’s lived experiences and reflect on how that is captured as data, see a project through all its stages, learn from like-minded peers, and practice humility and respect as I continue to hone my leadership style.”