Dartmouth Engineering Students Selected as 2010-11 Schweitzer Fellows

CONTACT: Catharine Lamm
1-603-646-3943

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship has selected two Thayer School of Engineering students as 2010-11 New Hampshire-Vermont Schweitzer Fellows. Over the next year, engineering students Broc Burke and Claire McKenna will join approximately 200 other Schweitzer Fellows across the country in conceptualizing and carrying out service projects that address the unmet health needs of underserved individuals and communities.

Broc Burke

Broc Burke, an MD/PhD candidate, aims to address pediatric health by providing a mentoring experience for children with chronic illness who are staying at David's House, along with their siblings. Burke will recruit mentors from both Thayer School and the Dartmouth varsity athletic teams, providing a breadth of experience to enrich the lives of David's House residents. Community Site: David's House

Claire McKenna

Claire McKenna, a Dartmouth senior, aims to combat health issues like obesity and diabetes by creating cooking classes and spreading nutritional awareness and information to under-resourced people living in the Upper Connecticut River Valley. Community Site: Upper Valley Haven; Willing Hands

Upon completion of their initial year, these two Schweitzer Fellows will become Schweitzer Fellows for Life and join a vibrant network of over 2,000 individuals who are skilled in, and committed to, addressing the health needs of underserved people throughout their professional careers.

Since 1996, the New Hampshire-Vermont (NH-VT) Schweitzer Fellows Program has supported graduate students in following in Dr. Albert Schweitzer's footsteps. Translating their passion and idealism into action, these graduate students partner with community-based organizations to develop and implement yearlong service projects that meet the health needs of New Hampshire and Vermont's most underserved populations. NH-VT is one of eleven Schweitzer sites across the U.S. and its Fellows have provided more than 60,000 hours of community service. Schweitzer Fellows are chosen on a competitive basis from student applicants in a variety of health-related fields.