In order to achieve full integration between students and the community, SHE recruits students from local universities to take part in planning, implementing, and evaluating its programs. Thus, students are able to work with SHE in a variety of functions: as a student worker, volunteer, intern, or part of an independent study. We also welcome Immersion Vanderbilt students interested in collaborating with the SHE program for their Immersion project. Students from many major areas participate in SHE, including Business (BA, MBA), Nursing, Music/Arts, Education, Pre-Med, Social Work, Exercise Science (MS), Child Development, and many others.

Through SHE, students will be presented opportunities to participate and grow in the following areas:

• Community and health research, particularly survey research and qualitative interviewing
• Health promotion
• Curriculum development
• Project coordination and management
• Team management
• Event development and implementation
• Conducting community needs assessments
• Grant writing and fundraising
• Personal professional skills development

For the 2022-2023 academic year, our current student involvement programs include:

• Organizing and presenting Community Kitchen workshops on healthy meals and nutrition education for hundreds of refugee youth and their families in the Catholic Charities Refugee Youth Program held at the Catholic Pastoral Center and Haywood Elementary. Our parent engagement events feature food demonstrations, recipe meal kit giveaways, and engagement with other community/city/state agencies such as the Metro Nashville Public Health Department for pediatric oral hygiene educational lessons and the Tennessee Justice Center for SNAP enrollment.
• Improving youth’s physical fitness, academic performance, and emotional wellbeing with afterschool programs that include homework help, physical activities, nutrition lessons, and enrichment activities.
• Unique internship placement opportunities for students interested in learning more about and performing the specific functions of a nonprofit organization.

In our students' own words:

They are so excited to learn, especially when it comes to talking about what they eat on a daily basis. I remember one game in particular that involved trying different foods from My Plate, the current nutrition guide based on dietary guidelines for Americans. The children were so delighted to try new foods- whether delicious or odd-tasting foods - from black berries to mushrooms.”
— Tanisha Stephens, site coordinator 2021-2022

Some past student involvement projects include:

• Helping Vanderbilt University sports teams develop and implement sports workshops for afterschool programs in underserved Nashville neighborhoods.
• Building youth’s participation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) projects by designing workshops for afterschool programs on these subjects.
• After training in focus group methodology and qualitative data analysis, SHE students developed, implemented, and analyzed focus group results related to community understanding and acceptance of infant immunization, use of booster seats, and family attitudes related to obesity and physical development in teen years.

Student partners have grown personally from working with SHE:

From my experience thus far, I have learned that [Students for Health Equity] represents a fundamental idea that we belong to each other.  At its root, the mission is both health-oriented and moral.  It is based on solidarity, rather than charity alone.  Engaging with the community partners…perpetuated why social equality is an essential part of a service-learning program."
— Ashley Nelson, former staff member (2011-12)

When I first joined [Students for Health Equity], I did not know much about Nashville at all. I got the information of the history, people, stereotypes, and needs of the community by asking questions and listening. Over time as I learned more and more answers, I was better equipped to serve the community and the people, and also understand my relationship with the community in a stronger light."
— Sarah Kenny, former staff member (2010-2014)

The [Students for Health Equity] program is more than a job opportunity, a volunteer placement, or an internship. It is a home and a place to come to learn about yourself and the world you live in."
— Anonymous, staff member

If you are a college student in the Nashville area and interested in learning more about becoming a student partner, please contact us.