The Fuld Leadership Program
Fuld Fellowships
Carmen Alvarez
Biographical Sketch
Reflections on the Fuld Fellowship
Making Bigger Beds
Biographical Sketch
Carmen Alvarez is one of three girls of Belizean immigrants. Her father, a plant breeder/horticulturist, worked for international organizations, which gave the family the opportunity to travel around the world. After living in Nigeria and Rwanda, she went to boarding school in Kenya and England, moved to Malawi, and Costa Rica, and finished high school in New York. She started her college career at Colby College in Maine, transferred Iowa State University to complete her bachelors in Nutritional Science, and finally moved to Atlanta to pursue a Masters degree in nursing science.
Thus far she has worked with African American women in Alabama, Mayan women in Guatemala, and WIC recipients in Iowa. All of these experiences have reinforced her belief in the importance of preventative and holistic healthcare, especially for women and children. Throughout her travels and research experience, both in developed and developing countries, she has seen how people suffer due to inadequate healthcare and poor nourishment. Carmen plans to do research and policy development related to enhancing health care access for under served populations.
Reflections on the Fuld Fellowship
Being part of this fellowship encouraged and broadened our perspective on how we can be new leaders in the service of vulnerable populations. Although I am a novice in the field of nursing, my daily experiences in both research and clinical setting, reinforced my belief that pursuing a career as a research clinician is the best way for fulfilling my moral obligations for social justice. I am currently at the University of Michigan where I was accepted earlier this year at School of Nursing for a PhD program. I want to pursue a PhD in nursing because of my interest to work towards improving the health situation of the vulnerable, underserved and the general populations. Given that the majority of ailments that people suffer around the world are preventable and could be ameliorated with some behavioral changes, I will be focusing my doctoral studies on health promotion and risk reduction primarily in adolescents. I hope that more students are able to join this priceless network nurses and have the fruitful and gratifying experiences that I have had and will continue to enjoy serving our global communities.
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