The Health Ambassadors are students from our two partner high schools (MHS and Med High) that are admitted into the SHARE Program via a thorough application and selection process. 67 students were originally admitted for the 2017/2018 program year, but only 40 students completed the program and participated in the 2018 Health Expo as HAs.
The Health Ambassadors were mentored to educate and conduct basic health screenings for people in their communities, focusing on the 4 most prevalent diseases in the region – Obesity, Diabetes, Cardiac Diseases and Asthma.The kickoff event for the 2017/2018 SHARE Program was a Field Experience, a 2-day event where selected students were engaged in hands-on activities related to the 4 prevalent diseases of interest. During the school year from September 2017 to May 2018, professors at Texas A&M University led an interactive teaching session with the students every month, via Skype or in-person. These teaching sessions are called mentorship meetings and were focused on the epidemiology, pathophysiology and prevention of the 4 aforementioned diseases.
In preparation for each mentorship meeting, students were provided educational resources that included journal papers, CDC fact sheets, videos, and TED talks, and required to complete assignments based on the provided resources. We also organized 3 mock rehearsals with the students to simulate the Health Expo setting in preparation for the main event.