March 15, 2021

The highly respected and for-credit Macy Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program is designed for Drexel University undergraduate students in the College of Nursing and Health Professions and the Dornsife School of Public Health. The program, created by Roberta Waite, EdD, professor, associate dean for Community-Centered Health & Wellness and Academic Integration and executive director of the Stephen & Sandra Sheller 11th St. Family Health Services, consists of three in-person courses completed consecutively in the fall, winter and spring quarters and taken in conjunction with regular program courses.

The unique format—group activities, workshops, round table debates and panel discussions—enable fellows to become more self-aware by analyzing strengths, weaknesses, privilege and biases in a very supportive and safe space. Fellows are encouraged to explore their values, purpose and beliefs, and in some cases, redefine their understanding of leadership. Mentors, a crucial part of the program, assist students in doing the challenging work necessary to develop professional networks, build their toolkits of enhanced interpersonal and leadership skills and reach their individual. Together fellows, faculty and mentors examine complex, and sometimes uncomfortable, issues from multiple perspectives while working interprofessionally with students from different majors.

In 1966, at the Second Annual Convention of the Medical Committee for Human Rights held in Chicago, The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhuman.” Macy helps students align their developing leadership styles with their own values and ethics. This will guide fellows in addressing the societal issues and concerns they will encounter in their careers through the lens of social justice. The Macy Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program faculty prepares students—the future health care and service workforce—to contribute creative, innovative solutions to promote health justice. This year's teaching faculty included Ebony White, PhD, assistant clinical professor in Counseling and Family Therapy, Alecia Fox, PhD, assistant clinical professor in Graduate Nursing, and Kimberly McClellan, EdD, assistant clinical professor in Undergraduate Nursing.

The 2020 – 2021 cohort consists of second- and third-years students in nutrition, nursing, health sciences, public health, behavioral health counseling and health services administration. They share, like every cohort, their reasons for applying to Philadelphia's only undergraduate leadership fellows program and what has been most impactful from their experiences. Applications are now being accepted for 2021-2022.

Read their Stories