(CHICAGO) — Four Rush University students were selected for the prestigious Schweitzer Fellowship — a program that provides students opportunities to design and implement innovative year-long projects to help vulnerable Chicago communities improve their health and well-being.

Corissa Dionisio, Rush Medical College; Alexis Lieb, College of Nursing; Jenna Marko, College of Nursing; and Emilee Lamorena, College of Health Sciences, are among 31 students who were accepted into the fellowship program from a pool of 142 applicants seeking the opportunity to work with Chicago community organizations, schools or clinics to address societal health challenges.

“All it takes is a few creative, passionate people to start a movement and push the world into a more positive, caring place,” said Lamorena. “This fellowship program is filled with such people, and I want to surround myself with them.”

The Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program is intended to cultivate lifelong leaders in service who will remain engaged in helping poorly resourced communities beyond their fellowship year.

• ​Dionisio will conduct her project at Family Rescue, a shelter for survivors of domestic abuse, where she will work to empower the residents with stress management and life skills development.
• Lieb proposes to partner with the Simpson Academy for Young Women, where she will focus on providing young mothers with the tools to reach their educational and professional goals.
• Marko plans to create an intergenerational reading buddies program for disadvantaged third to eighth grade students and senior adult mentors.
• Lamorena will give support to underserved families affected by cancer, including mentoring and counseling for children to help them cope with their experiences, and information and referrals for parents to help them battle their illness.

For more information about Schweitzer Fellowships and the organizations that support it, visit www.schweitzerfellowship.org.