Eisenhower Fellowship
I was recently awarded an Eisenhower Fellowship! The Fellowship will be sending me to live for one month in South Africa and Jordan to meet with leaders and research fitness and wellness programs for kids in underserved communities.
Since 1953, Eisenhower Fellowships has connected and empowered exceptional leaders of all races, nations, religions and political beliefs in a common mission to enhance understanding through direct dialogue to build a world more peaceful, prosperous and just. The Eisenhower Fellowships USA Justice Program is a world-class fellowship program to confront stubbornly entrenched racism and institutional inequities in the United States. The program advances the legacy of our namesake, President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who sent the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division into Little Rock, Arkansas in 1957 to protect African-American students and ensure they could exercise their Constitutional right to attend a segregated, all-white high school. Reflecting President Eisenhower’s vision and the distinguished history of this organization that bears his name, the USA Justice Program sends ascendant American leaders on a transformative, personalized professional experience abroad to enrich their perspectives, broaden their experience and sharpen their skills so they can maximize their impact on advancing racial justice in their communities and professional spheres.
On fellowship in Jordan and South Africa, I want to explore how fitness and wellness programs contribute to children’s overall health and well-being and address the link between racial injustice and poverty. The initiative I am working on will focus on identifying best practices for developing fitness programming promoting whole person health for children in minority populations in Philadelphia. First, these best practices will be memorialized in a toolkit for providers to use in order to institute effective fitness programs for these children, and second, will form the foundation to begin a new fitness program in an underserved community in Philly.
This is a passion for me. This year, I have started to teach fitness classes for children. It is a unique experience to introduce a young person to new ways to activate their body and mind and help them to focus on achieving strength through movement. I can’t wait to embark on this journey!
