Steven is a student in the College of Arts and Sciences with ambitions to major in Biology or Health and Societies and minor in Urban Education. As an SNF Paideia Fellow, Steven is eager to further integrate wellness, service, citizenship, and dialogue with his interest in the intersection of health and education. Steven is curious about how dialogue, citizenship, wellness, and service among communities influence social determinants of health and how the improvement of these pillars works for the well-being of society. Specifically, he aims to apply the skills developed from the SNF Paideia Program to better understand and combat STEM, health, and education inequalities. Steven also hopes to transfer these skills outside of the classroom to better demonstrate compassion and empathy with the students and the different communities he collaborates with.
Outside of his academic studies, Steven is involved with several different groups on campus, practicing the four pillars of the SNF Paideia Program. For instance, he volunteers as a board member and coach for Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Program (GEAR UP), a Netter Center for Community Partnership organization. He is also a board member and tutor for the West Philadelphia Tutoring Project (WPTP) through Civic House. Steven combines his interest in health and education through Netter Center’s Educational Pipeline, encouraging high school students from underrepresented backgrounds to aspire to careers in medicine. He also embraces his background as a FGLIQ student as the co-chair of FGLIQ at Penn and a facilitator for Netter Center’s OurSpace.
As an SNF Paideia Fellow, Steven hopes to contribute to improving health literacy by developing a trusting connection between minority communities and healthcare providers through education. He is eager to develop his own dialogue skills to better empathize with patients and connect them with the appropriate medical and financial resources through Service Link at Penn Family Care. He hopes to bring the skills he grows through the fellowship program with him into the medical field, developing a sense of security for patients and addressing root causes of health disparities and their effects on minority patients.