Two Chan students named Schweitzer fellows
April 6, 2017

By Mike McNulty

Erin Malia Sako MA ’18 and Allie Schmiesing MA ’18, first-year students in the division’s entry-level occupational therapy professional program, have been selected to the 2017-2018 class of Los Angeles Albert Schweitzer Fellows.

The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship supports university graduate students who conceive and implement projects designed to improve the health and well-being of vulnerable populations. Schweitzer Fellows partner with area organizations to identify an unmet health need, design a 200-hour service project with demonstrable impact, and usher the project from conception to implementation.

Sako will conduct her fellowship at the Painted Brain where she will serve people in Central Los Angeles County who are labeled with mental illness and address the need for accessible, affordable community-based programs that focus on managing stress and reducing stigma. With a community space located in Los Angeles’ Koreatown district, Painted Brain aims to provide sustainable community-based programs and solutions using arts, advocacy and enterprise for people living with mental health challenges.

Schmiesing has designed a program for older adults living in the greater Los Angeles community based upon research in the gerontology and occupational science literature that supports the use of reminiscence and inter-generational programs to improve quality of life among older adults. In conjunction with partners Front Porch and LifeBio, Schmiesing will facilitate participants’ reflection and storytelling to improve positive self-concept and quality of life across a variety of measures.

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