The academic year got off to a great start with an all day fellowship orientation held Saturday, August 27, 2005 at the Westward Look Resort in Tucson. Fellows were greeted in the morning with a warm welcome and introduction to the program by Associate Dean of the Graduate  College and Training Core Director, Dr. Maria Teresa Velez. Fellows spent the morning session learning a little bit about one another, about the program and its structure as well as the importance of their role and training to become future public health leaders in eliminating health disparities. Export alumni Tomas Nuño, Miguel Vasquez, and Luis Perales were invited to come speak with the new fellows. This was a chance for new incoming fellows to hear first hand about fellows personal experiences in the community and with their projects. It was an opportunity for new fellows to ask questions and hear a student’s perspective of the program.
In the afternoon Project EXPORT Team including faculty, staff and community partners joined the fellows for lunch out on the terrace overlooking the city of Tucson. In the warmth of the afternoon, fellows were introduced to the different faculty and community members that make up the research, outreach and training cores of Project EXPORT. Associate Dean for Community Programs, Jill de Zapien provided the history and background to the project, while the core directors and leaders, Kathryn Coe and Joel Meister of the community core, Scott Carvajal and Jennie Joe of the research core and Antonio Estrada and Chris Tisch of the training core provided introductions to the core objectives and initiatives. Pima County  Board of Supervisors, Richard Elías reiterated Dr. Meister’s comments that “health is political” and encouraged the fellows to use best practices developed through EXPORT to inform and change policy for the betterment of health disparity communities.
Following the lunch, community project advisors/mentors presented EXPORT initiatives for fellow’s community engagement requirement. Fellows chose from a number of opportunities including, the School Health Index Project a collaboration between the University of Arizona Department of Nutritional Sciences, the Center for Health Equality, Project EXPORT and Sunnyside School District, a Project EXPORT pilot project, “Media Wise” a substance abuse media literacy intervention program, organizing family and community neighborhood events to promote youth wellness in collaboration with the Sunnyside Elvira Advocacy (SEA) committee, development of diabetes curriculum in collaboration with the SEA diabetes subcommittee, and a Project EXPORT pilot project the “Animadora Project” a walking advocacy program. These were just a few projects fellows will be engage in throughout the year of their fellowship.
The orientation was a wonderful way for fellows to understand the significance of Project EXPORT and its strategy to eliminating health disparities. EXPORT is a collaboration of community partners, the university and individuals where fellows have a wealth of resources to draw upon. In turn, the new group of fellows is made up of dynamic individuals who come from a various backgrounds and an array of experiences. We will be watching as each fellow’s talents and strengths are uncovered through the year as we create opportunities to link them and the resources of the university to our community.
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