Levine Scholar Kayla Walker explains her mission to empower women through community-based health education
Kayla Walker, a junior from Crofton, Maryland, is a Levine Scholar who is majoring in public health and mathematics on the pre-medicine track — and passionate about closing the health disparities gap that exists for women of color. Earlier this year, Boston-based nonprofit Campus Compact named her among its 2023-24 Newman Civic Fellows. Throughout the fellowship year, Campus Compact provides students with opportunities to help them develop strategies for social change.
Photos By Amy Hart
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of pregnancy-related deaths for Black women is three times higher than for white women. The CDC also reports that 60% of all pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Because of persisting racial disparities and biases in the field of obstetrics, countless deaths occur for Black mothers across the United States.
In high school, I completed my STEM senior capstone project about the maternal health disparities and biases in medicine. My classmates and I completed an educational session with aspiring health care professionals about common medical misconceptions by race, informed them about maternal mortality disparities and introduced doulas as a potential field of interest.
This project sparked my overwhelming interest in women’s health. Coming to Charlotte as a Levine Scholar, I wanted to use the opportunities available through this scholarship to understand the state of women’s health in the city, work with local organizations that address women’s health issues, and join clubs and organizations that support the cause.
Building a foundation for future expertise
During my first semester, through a partnership between the Levine Scholars Program Research Mentoring Initiative and the Academy for Population Health Innovation, I joined the research project Holistic Opportunity Program for Everyone Initiative led by Victoria Scott and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, faculty in the Department of Psychological Science, and Tamikia Greene, assistant health director, Mecklenburg County Health Department. This initiative’s goal is to integrate behavioral health services in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, and Family Planning Clinics in the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department with a special focus on screening women who may have postpartum depression. Joining this APHI project would establish a strong foundation for my future endeavors in the field of public health, because I had the opportunity to see how academia and public health could work together to make recommendations that are both practical and data-informed.
Kayla Walker talks with Tamikia Greene, assistant health director, Mecklenburg County Health Department, about the research project
Holistic Opportunity Program for Everyone Initiative.
One fundamental component of the Levine Scholars Program is a civic engagement project. Each scholar is allocated $8,000 to implement a project with a nonprofit organization of their choice. At the end of my first year, I learned of an existing project, Harvesting Healthy Habits. The goal of this project, partnered with the Salvation Army Center of Hope, a homeless shelter for single women and families, was to provide broad health education to the women and children of the shelter and supply essential products for self-care. Each session had a different focus such as dental, skin, eye or maternal health.
It was perfect for me because it combined my interests in medicine and public health while serving a community that is important to me. Interacting with the women during the educational sessions stood out. I loved having meaningful and engaging conversations with the residents about their health. As I take full ownership of the project this academic year, I hope to continue providing even more essential products and health education to the women of the shelter. One of my goals is to partner with additional local organizations that share a similar goal of increasing access to health care for this community.
Joining a community of student leaders
Being nominated and selected to participate in the Newman Civic Fellowship is a highlight of my time so far at Charlotte. I am very excited to join a community of students from across the United States who are leaders in their cities and who have an interest in taking action to solve public problems.
During my next two years at Charlotte, I hope to make a difference in the state of women’s health by conducting research about maternal-child health disparities and implementing sustainable programs to help marginalized communities. I know the resources and guidance from the Newman Civic Fellowship will assist me in achieving my goals.
For anyone who is interested in learning more about the maternal health crisis in the U.S., I highly recommend watching the documentary, ‘Aftershock.’ The UNC Charlotte Maternal Child Health Workgroup sponsored a screening on campus. This documentary, which follows the families of Black women who died due to preventable pregnancy-related complications, sheds light on changes we can advocate for within the health care and legal systems to prevent such tragic deaths from happening.
Other ways to get involved include joining the MCH Workgroup or Health Care Justice and to volunteer at local organizations such as Care Ring. The overwhelming action this country is taking to improve the maternal mortality disparities leaves me optimistic for the future. With education, advocacy and action, I know the future is marked with equitable health care outcomes for all.
Hope + Health
Kayla Walker, a junior from Crofton, Maryland, is a Levine Scholar who is majoring in public health and mathematics on the pre-medicine track — and passionate about closing the health disparities gap that exists for women of color. Earlier this year, Boston-based nonprofit Campus Compact named her among its 2023-24 Newman Civic Fellows. Throughout the fellowship year, Campus Compact provides students with opportunities to help them develop strategies for social change.
Photos By Amy Hart
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the risk of pregnancy-related deaths for Black women is three times higher than for white women. The CDC also reports that 60% of all pregnancy-related deaths are preventable. Because of persisting racial disparities and biases in the field of obstetrics, countless deaths occur for Black mothers across the United States.
In high school, I completed my STEM senior capstone project about the maternal health disparities and biases in medicine. My classmates and I completed an educational session with aspiring health care professionals about common medical misconceptions by race, informed them about maternal mortality disparities and introduced doulas as a potential field of interest.
This project sparked my overwhelming interest in women’s health. Coming to Charlotte as a Levine Scholar, I wanted to use the opportunities available through this scholarship to understand the state of women’s health in the city, work with local organizations that address women’s health issues, and join clubs and organizations that support the cause.
Building a foundation for future expertise
During my first semester, through a partnership between the Levine Scholars Program Research Mentoring Initiative and the Academy for Population Health Innovation, I joined the research project Holistic Opportunity Program for Everyone Initiative led by Victoria Scott and Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling, faculty in the Department of Psychological Science, and Tamikia Greene, assistant health director, Mecklenburg County Health Department. This initiative’s goal is to integrate behavioral health services in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children, known as WIC, and Family Planning Clinics in the Mecklenburg County Public Health Department with a special focus on screening women who may have postpartum depression. Joining this APHI project would establish a strong foundation for my future endeavors in the field of public health, because I had the opportunity to see how academia and public health could work together to make recommendations that are both practical and data-informed.
Kayla Walker talks with Tamikia Greene, assistant health director, Mecklenburg County Health Department, about the research project
Holistic Opportunity Program for Everyone Initiative.
One fundamental component of the Levine Scholars Program is a civic engagement project. Each scholar is allocated $8,000 to implement a project with a nonprofit organization of their choice. At the end of my first year, I learned of an existing project, Harvesting Healthy Habits. The goal of this project, partnered with the Salvation Army Center of Hope, a homeless shelter for single women and families, was to provide broad health education to the women and children of the shelter and supply essential products for self-care. Each session had a different focus such as dental, skin, eye or maternal health.
It was perfect for me because it combined my interests in medicine and public health while serving a community that is important to me. Interacting with the women during the educational sessions stood out. I loved having meaningful and engaging conversations with the residents about their health. As I take full ownership of the project this academic year, I hope to continue providing even more essential products and health education to the women of the shelter. One of my goals is to partner with additional local organizations that share a similar goal of increasing access to health care for this community.
Joining a community of student leaders
Being nominated and selected to participate in the Newman Civic Fellowship is a highlight of my time so far at Charlotte. I am very excited to join a community of students from across the United States who are leaders in their cities and who have an interest in taking action to solve public problems.
During my next two years at Charlotte, I hope to make a difference in the state of women’s health by conducting research about maternal-child health disparities and implementing sustainable programs to help marginalized communities. I know the resources and guidance from the Newman Civic Fellowship will assist me in achieving my goals.
For anyone who is interested in learning more about the maternal health crisis in the U.S., I highly recommend watching the documentary, ‘Aftershock.’ The UNC Charlotte Maternal Child Health Workgroup sponsored a screening on campus. This documentary, which follows the families of Black women who died due to preventable pregnancy-related complications, sheds light on changes we can advocate for within the health care and legal systems to prevent such tragic deaths from happening.
Other ways to get involved include joining the MCH Workgroup or Health Care Justice and to volunteer at local organizations such as Care Ring. The overwhelming action this country is taking to improve the maternal mortality disparities leaves me optimistic for the future. With education, advocacy and action, I know the future is marked with equitable health care outcomes for all.