SLC Stories

Read about our extraordinary students, faculty, and alumni.

Healthcare

Health Care or Healthcare?Healthcare?

The seemingly subtle discrepancy between "healthcare" and "health care" carries more weight than meets the eye. Although they are frequently used interchangeably, these terms possess nuanced variations that are worth exploring. While both phrases pertain to medical services and wellness support, their applicability can hinge on contextual considerations and regional language conventions.

Two hands holding each other in foreground with blue jean in background.

Put People Back in Healthcare: The Genomics Workforce Problem

This is the first blog from Kelle Steenblock, Director of the Institute for Genomics Education, Workforce & Leadership at Sarah Lawrence College. In this blog, she highlights the current challenges in the genomics workforce and why Sarah Lawrence College is ready to meet these challenges head on through collaboration with the genomics community.

Health advocacy and public health

Transforming Patient Experiences: Alumna Devon Santoro's Journey in Health Advocacy

Devon Santoro, an alumna of Sarah Lawrence College's Health Advocacy program, is dedicated to improving patient experiences within the healthcare system. She emphasizes the importance of positive patient experiences and fixing underlying systemic issues by implementing education initiatives and coaching to promote empathy. Devon's experience highlights the value of the Health Advocacy program in developing a comprehensive understanding of the healthcare system and the importance of embracing diverse perspectives and remaining open to change.

Health advocacy and public health

Health Advocacy and Public Health: What’s the difference and which is right for you?you?

Summary: Health advocacy and public health are two related but distinct fields that aim to improve health outcomes. Public health focuses on population-level interventions and policies, while health advocacy focuses on individual and community-level activism and advocacy for change. Students in both a Master of Arts in Health Advocacy and a Master’s in Public Health learn about policy, statistics, program design, and research methods. However, the MPH includes more specialized tracks, such as biostatistics or epidemiology. The MA in Health Advocacy prepares students to work across various settings, including policy, nonprofit leadership, patient advocacy, and healthcare systems.

Malnutrition

Addressing Malnutrition in Uganda: Dynamic Doctors Uganda's Community-Centered Approach

Dynamic Doctors Uganda (DDU) was founded to address a wide range of health issues affecting communities throughout Uganda. One of the main issues facing women and girls in Uganda that DDU is tackling is malnutrition. Malnutrition affects men, women, and children in Uganda, but it is considered a women's health issue because women bear the primary responsibility for feeding and caring for their families. Malnutrition has severe health implications for women, including anemia, low birth weight, and poor maternal health outcomes. DDU provides education and screening to address malnutrition and the many other health issues facing marginalized communities in Uganda. Their community outreach strategy disrupts the traditional healthcare delivery model and advocates for a new community-centered approach.

Oluwaseyitan Oluwadunsin Adesopo

Advocacy in Women's Reproductive Health: An Interview with a Nigerian Doctor-in-Training

Oluwaseyitan Oluwadunsin Adesopo, a 6th-year medical student in Nigeria passionate about advocating for women's reproductive health. After witnessing tragic yet avoidable medical situations, Adesopo became motivated to incorporate advocacy into her medical training. Adesopo believes community and policy advocacy are critical in addressing health issues alongside medical interventions.

Tiffany

Advocating for Ovarian Cancer Prevention and Cure: Tiffany Stout's Story

Tiffany Stout, an ovarian cancer survivor, advocates for the prevention and cure of ovarian cancer. She shares the importance of self-advocacy in healthcare, especially for women who may be dismissed or delayed in receiving a diagnosis. Tiffany supports people impacted by ovarian cancer through her work as a volunteer with the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, where she guides patients in advocating for themselves and asking for what they need. Additionally, she has taken her advocacy to influence research by serving as a consumer reviewer for the Ovarian Cancer Research Program (OCRP). She and others affected by ovarian cancer provide input on which research proposals should receive federal funding. Tiffany's advocacy takes two tracks, the individual and the community, to ensure patients are not alone and to make tangible differences in the experience of cancer patients and hopefully save lives.

Three faces in overlapping circles

Experts discuss medical consequences of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision and ongoing challenges in abortion access

As part of our ongoing conversation on the impact of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, we hosted a panel of experts to discuss the medical consequences of that ruling. The decision has made abortion illegal and inaccessible in some states, impacting care for people in large swaths of the country. Panelists discussed the various impacts in different regions and for different population groups. Despite the challenges and barriers, many providers and advocates continue to work towards normalizing abortion and increasing access to care. The conversations and efforts towards ensuring access to safe and affordable reproductive healthcare are ongoing and critical, with hope being found in the dedication of providers and the activism of young people.

liquid refilling test tubes

Alumni Spotlight: Erik Harden's Journey from Health Advocacy Program to Shaping Cancer Research

This post highlights the journey of Erik Harden, a 2018 graduate of the Health Advocacy program. Currently, he holds two critical positions at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City. As the Administrator for the National Cancer Institute Community Oncology Research Program and a Breast Oncology Senior Clinical Research Manager, Harden works towards advocating for communities and increasing minority representation in cancer research. He credits his education at Sarah Lawrence College for teaching him about healthcare policy which he uses daily in his current role.

Group of volunteers gathered behind table with vaccination equipment

Umoja Health: Using Creativity and Collaboration to Improve Health Access

The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated many ways in which the traditional health and public health systems fail communities of color. Dr. Kim Rhoads, a surgeon at UCSF, saw an opportunity to engage those same communities to address the COVID-19 and health-related needs of underserved communities of color in the Bay Area. Through the formation of Umoja Health, Dr. Rhoads engaged in coalition building, strategic partnerships, and genuine community-led initiatives that led to improved healthcare access and outcomes.

nursing home residents sitting at tables

The INN Between Provides Dignity in End-of-Life for Utah’s Unhoused Community

The INN Between in Salt Lake City, UT, provides end-of-life care for people experiencing homelessness. Without the INN Between, terminally ill people experiencing homelessness had no alternative housing to live out the rest of their days. The result was an average of 50 deaths on the streets of Salt Lake City annually. The INN Between fills a critical need and, through advocating in the community and educating stakeholders, ensures that the unhoused community members have a safe, caring place to die with dignity.

Bernice Rosenzweig

From the Ground Up

Dr. Bernice Rosenzweig's students connect geology, earth science, environmental justice, physics, math, and more, to arrive at an understanding of climate change’s impact on where we live—and what we can do to protect our future.

Philip Ording

Inquiries: Philip Ording, Professor of Mathematics

“Teaching and learning math has to be a shared act of imagination.”

Bele Edeoga

Narratives: Bele Edeoga

“I was basically doing a five-year projected plan for the company. It was really interesting, because I was able to research the various regulations and laws for the makeup industry.”

Tinder Kiely

Narratives: Tinder Kiely

Uninterested in conventional journalistic starting blocks, Tinder Kiely began building his investigative reporting portfolio at Sarah Lawrence right away.

Mia Jimenez

Narratives: Mia Jimenez

“Half the class is SLC students, half the class is incarcerated women, and we’re all writing poetry and receiving college credit. We’re all coming from really different places, and we don’t ignore that.”

Joshua Reigel

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace

Alumni and students come together in a new, three part series of events sponsored by the offices of Career Services, Alumni Relations, Disability Services, and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Michelle Hersh

Inquiries: Michelle Hersh, Professor of Biology

Michelle Hersh is grateful for Sarah Lawrence’s easy access to the Hudson River, where a rich ecosystem serves as an extension of her on-campus lab.

Michaela Lunz

Narratives: Michaela Lunz

For Michaela, an audience’s relationship with art is as important as the work itself. Her conference work often examines how a viewer’s relationship with a piece can influence popular attitudes and social policy.

Carolyn Ferrell

Office Hours: Carolyn Ferrell, Professor of Writing

When asked about how her writing influences her teaching, Carolyn was insistent that it was actually the other way around.

George Scott

Narratives: George Scott

George scott takes environmental science and urban ecology personally—he’s a fourth-generation New Yorker and has seen firsthand how issues like water quality and pollution can affect a city. When he was looking for a college where he could immerse himself in environmental issues and play soccer, the opportunities and freedom at Sarah Lawrence stood out.

Sarah Doh

Narratives: Sarah Doh

“I realized the power art can have in terms of activism. I realized I don’t have to give up art in order to do good work in the world.”

Parent helping student move in

Fall 2020 Move-in and Meet the Class of 2024

The newest members of the Sarah Lawrence community, the class of 2024, begin their academic years with a fall semester unlike any other in College history. While face masks and social distancing are new developments, what continues to be true is that the Sarah Lawrence community is one marked by its empathy and curiosity - people who strive to push themselves academically and explore their varied and broad interests to connect their passions and create their futures.

Joan Marks in class with students

Sarah Lawrence Mourns Loss of Joan H. Marks '51, Pioneer of Genetic Counseling

The Sarah Lawrence College community mourns the death of Joan H. Marks ’51. In 1972, Joan took the helm of what, at the time, was a three-year-old genetic counseling graduate program at Sarah Lawrence—the first in the nation. During her 26 year tenure, she would grow the program to the largest in the nation and blaze the trail for an entirely new field in healthcare, blending the tenets of psychology, advocacy, biology, and medicine in a manner that truly embodied Sarah Lawrence's philosophy of education.

Hailey Sprinkles, Blair Darney, and Dominique Fluker

Alumni Supporting Students and Recent Alums Entering the Workforce in Tumultuous Times

In a job market rocked by COVID-19, Sarah Lawrence alumni answer the call to support the College's newest graduates and fellow alums.

Maia Pujara, Elias Rodrigues, and Bernice Rosenzweig

Sarah Lawrence Welcomes New Tenure Track Faculty

Joining the exceptional Sarah Lawerence faculty this year are three distinguished scholars whose intellectual curiosity and passion for teaching are a perfect match for the College’s dedication and commitment to cross-disciplinary study, deep exploration, and preparation for students to thrive in a rapidly-evolving world.

Norma Jean Darden

Model-Turned-Restaurateur Norma Jean Darden '61 Featured in The Moth's Harlem Week Celebration Celebration

Norma Jean Darden ‘61, like many Sarah Lawrence alumni, is a “hyphenate”—actor-writer-singer, dancer-mayor, doctor-teacher. Ms. Darden’s combo? High-fashion model turned restaurateur.

Zoe Crowe, Michael LeVasseur, Clarion Johnson

Sarah Lawrence Alumni Confronting the COVID-19 Pandemic

Healthcare workers put aside their own safety and travelled to New York City and hot zones across the country. Academics and researchers who study AIDS and viral epidemics set aside their own work for the moment and focused on COVID-19. And in homes and businesses around the world, people turned on sewing machines and retrofitted manufacturing machinery to equip essential workers and the public with precious resources—masks, face shields, hand sanitizer.

Drew Cressman (biology), Carolyn Ferrell ’84 (writing)

Socially Distant, Intellectually Close

This summer, cognizant of the transformative power of education and the institution’s potential for being a stabilizing force in a seemingly unstable world, Sarah Lawrence launched a new initiative with the dual aims of fostering incoming students’ sense of community and enabling them to get a head start on their SLC education. Melissa Frazier, associate dean of the College, leveraged Sarah Lawrence’s remarkable intellectual resources and nimbleness to organize a five-week mini-semester for incoming first-year students. From July 6 to August 7, incoming students had the opportunity to take one or two special courses—remotely, for academic credit, and at no additional cost—taught by SLC’s outstanding faculty.

Amada Sandoval, Ronnie Benion

A Chance to Thrive

This fall, students of color at Sarah Lawrence will have a unique opportunity to develop important skills for success on campus and beyond, thanks to the College’s Thrive Mentorship Program for Students of Color.

Anna Schulz '22, Josie Pierce '20

Internships, Interrupted

“The students kept saying, ‘We’re going to keep going,’” recalls Gross. “They were aware, troubled, concerned about the clients at these agencies because they understood what services were no longer being provided, or were going to be adjusted and provided in a different form.”

Ilja teaching outside with students (archival image)

The Teacher

Ilja Wachs (literature), beloved teacher of great books, tells his own story of fleeing the Nazis, struggling to come to terms with injustice, and finding his true home at Sarah Lawrence.