Oklahoma State University
12/17/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 12/17/2024 15:17
OSU-COM students make impact on Latinx youth with Schweitzer Fellowship
OSU-COM students make impact on Latinx youth with Schweitzer Fellowship
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Media Contact: Kayley Spielbusch | Digital Communications Specialist | 918-561-5759 | [email protected]
Carleen Perez and Madison Tytanic are using their life experiences to support Latinx youth in Tulsa.
Perez and Tytanic, second-year medical students at Oklahoma State University College of Osteopathic Medicine, are a part of The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship2024-25 Tulsa cohort. Tulsa's Albert Schweitzer Fellowship is one of 13 program sites in the United States. The fellowship aims to develop graduates who will enter the workforce with the commitment and leadership skills needed to address unmet health needs for underserved populations.
Perez and Tytanic are working with Amplify Youth Health Collective,a local organization dedicated to expanding access to sex education and resources for Tulsa's youth. Their initiative, Sigma Alma Fuerte, is dedicated to educating and equipping Latinx youth with resources about sexually transmitted infections while also working to eliminate the stigma surrounding sexual health.
For Perez, this project reflects the struggles she faced as a teenager. When she became pregnant at 16, she found that she did not have access to the resources she needed.
"I did not have the support I needed to get where I was," Perez said. "We're providing resources I wish I would have had. It would have changed the trajectory of my life."
High school students from across Tulsa County participate in Sigma Alma Fuerte. In addition to sexual health education, the program provides teens with an environment to connect with their peers and embrace their culture. Perez and Tytanic partner with local organizations, such as Domestic Violence and Intervention Services, who recently spoke during a session.
For Tytanic, her wish to make a meaningful impact on underserved populations drives her passion for the project.
"Latinx youth often lack the mentorship and resources they need. Carleen and I discussed how a program like this would have had a profound impact on her growing up and we realized how much this could benefit youth in our community," she said.
Tytanic found herself struggling to find a purpose in high school after losing her boyfriend to suicide. Inspired by her mother's nursing career, Tytanic decided to pursue a career in medicine.
"Latinx youth often lack the mentorship and resources they need. Carleen and I discussed how a program like this would have had a profound impact on her growing up and we realized how much this could benefit youth in our community."
"My experiences working in a trauma center and biomedical research transformed my sense of loss into a drive to help others," she said. "I want to be a mentor to the young people in our project to offer the support and resources I did not have growing up."
During her undergraduate studies, one of Perez's professors encouraged her to pursue medicine. Another motivation was seeing her father struggle with the language barrier with his doctor.
"Being Latinx, it's hard to find things that are for you," she said. "There are very few Spanish-speaking or Latinx physicians. I believe it's less than seven percent nationwide."
Perez credits former Schweitzer Fellows Paul Delgado and Carol Quijada for inspiring her to apply for the fellowship. She helped with their projects and realized her dream of helping her community could become a reality. She and Tytanic, who was also interested in the Schweitzer Fellowship, discussed the idea and the project was born from there.
"We got together and realized we could make a bigger impact together, rather than do it alone," she said.
The pair aims to keep expanding Sigma Alma Fuerte beyond the fellowship. Those interested in supporting the project can donatethrough the Amplify Youth Collective website. To designate the donation specifically to the project, donors should put Perez or Tytanic's names or Sigma Alma Fuerte in the notes.
Both Perez and Tytanic are excited about the future of the project.
"Together, we are hoping to create something that has a lasting impact on Tulsa's youth," Tytanic said.
Perez believes the challenges she faced as a teenager led her to where she is today,
"I know I was meant to live the life I lived and struggled through so I could do this project," she said. "If I hadn't gone through any of that stuff, I wouldn't be here doing this."