NEW HAMPSHIRE/VERMONT SCHWEITZER FELLOWS PROGRAM

As a way of fostering Dr. Albert Schweitzer’s legacy of health care for the underserved, The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship® provides service opportunities and support for health professional students and students in health-related disciplines and legal students who seek to help those currently underserved by our health care system. The New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program, which began in 1996, is rooted in Dr. Schweitzer’s belief that there is a vast, untapped reservoir of idealism in our communities; this idealism, nurtured and provided with specific opportunities for action, can become a powerful resource in helping underserved communities improve their health.

"The most valuable part of the Schweitzer fellowship was providing the connection between enthusiastic, service-oriented students with different agencies and each other.  It is always an uplifting experience when the fellows meet periodically and discuss the successes and challenges of our individual projects and be of support to each other."
-Nu Chai, 2007-08 NH/VT Schweitzer Fellow

HISTORY and OVERVIEW
The New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program (NH/VT SFP) began in 1996 under the direction of Dr. Joseph O’Donnell. Each year, the Program selects approximately 25 graduate students to be Schweitzer Fellows from schools that include Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, Franklin Pierce Law School, Antioch New England Graduate School, Vermont Law School and UVM College of Medicine. Each Schweitzer Fellow is required to carry out a project of 200 hours that addresses the needs of underserved populations in the local community.

Fellows design their own projects, working with existing local community agencies. The projects must be sustainable after their Fellowship year ends. In addition to carrying out their projects, Fellows meet regularly to support each other in their work, produce symposia for the public and for their colleagues at the schools, and write a detailed final report at the end of the Program year.  Fellows receive a stipend of $2,000.

Since its inception, the NH/VT SFP has supported over 280 Fellows who have provided approximately 56,000 hours of community service through local agencies. This Program helps the professional schools and social service agencies work together.  The Fellows bring what they have learned back to their schools, enriching the curriculum and experience of their classmates. Above all, by providing students with opportunities for service at a formative stage of their career, the Program attempts to instill in them a lifelong commitment to leadership in public service.

"I found my experience in the Schweitzer program phenomenally meaningful, and I am sure that it will be one of the most rewarding experiences of my medical school career.  It has  grounded me in a world of lofty academia, catapulted me to a greater understanding of my career goals and my community, and inspired a long-term commitment to sharing my talents to benefit the lives of others.  I will be forever grateful for the lessons I’ve learned, relationships I’ve developed, and excitement I’ve felt as a Schweitzer Fellow."
-Heidi Schumacher, 2007-08 NH/VT Schweitzer Fellow

For more information, contact:
Becky Torrey, Program Director
New Hampshire/Vermont Schweitzer Fellows Program
10 Sausville Road
Etna, NH 03750
(603) 643-1479
rebecca.b.torrey@dartmouth.edu