The Fuld Leadership Program
Fuld Fellowships
Allison Buri
Biographical Sketch
Biographical Sketch
Women’s health, childbirth, family care, and social justice are important aspects of nursing that have brought Allison Buri to the profession and to Emory University. While studying Spanish and Global studies at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, Allison was heavily involved in social justice and environmental organizing on campus.
Fueled by the plights of social injustices, Allison’s college years took her to new places and exposed her to the disparities of rural communities. During her sophomore year, Allison traveled to and studied in Cuernavaca, Mexico. It was during this time that Allison was first introduced to health workers and midwives who would later influence her decision to enter nursing.
Allison ventured to Latin America again her senior year of college. This time she spent a semester studying in Havana, Cuba. In Cuba she experienced the dichotomy of a society rich in health care, education, and access to basics needs, but seriously lacking in wealth, certain social freedoms, and other luxuries experienced in the U.S.
After graduating from university, Allison joined Witness for Peace, a non-governmental organization based in the United States and operating in Mexico, Colombia, and Nicaragua. In August of 2002, she moved to Bogota, Colombia, where she spent two years researching and writing about U.S. policy in Colombia and assisting with educational delegations for U.S. citizens who went to Colombia to study the effects of war on the nation’s people and industries as well as how U.S. policy and international aid was affecting the country.
Allison returned to Seattle, WA in 2004 where she worked at the West Seattle Food Bank and volunteered as an ESL teacher for Spanish-speaking students. It was during this time that Allison was able to see that low-income families and newcomers to the United States need affordable quality health care and changes in health policy as much as people living in underdeveloped countries in our world.
All of these experiences lead Allison to pursue a career in Family Nursing and Nurse Midwifery. Various experiences at Emory University in her first year as a nursing student have strengthened her resolve to provide health care to underserved populations.
Allison assisted Spanish Speaking patients at Grady Hospital as a Volunteer with the Language and Interpretive Services. In March Allison was able to travel to the Bahamas to learn more about providing health care with limited resources in a rural setting. As a part of the Community Health Nursing course Allison traveled to South Georgia to provide health care to Migrant Farm workers and their children.
A group of like-minded students has gotten together to train as doulas (birth attendants) and to provide labor support to women with limited economic resources. Allison is proud to be a part of the Atlanta Doula Cooperative and hopes to gain valuable experience while providing a wonderful service to laboring mothers. Clinical experiences, including a nurse externship in Women’s Services at a local hospital have given Allison the opportunity to understand better what a rewarding and demanding career nursing is.
After one year of nursing school Allison is very happy to have made the decision she made and looks forward to the opportunities she will have while still at Emory and once she begins practicing.
Reflections on the Fellowship
The Fuld Fellowship has allowed me the opportunity to take part in a number of amazing opportunities at Emory University's School of Nursing. I have traveled to the Bahamas for a service learning trip, studied community health nursing in South Georgia, and participated in numerous on-campus activities focused on service and social responsibility. None of this would have been possible without the financial and social support hat the Fuld Fellowship has provided me. The camaraderie and community that has been forged among the Fuld Fellows has been an invaluable support to me throughout my studies. Being connected to a group of students who are also dedicated to social change and caring in nursing encourages me -- as we all go forth into the greater community to work for social change. I feel honored and blessed to represent the Fuld Fellows in my dedication to service and social change.
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