MSU senior earns yearlong medical fellowship focused on patient-centered healthcare
Contact: Mary Pollitz
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥斶倭ù microbiology and interdisciplinary studies senior William 鈥淐ooper鈥 Word of Madison has been selected for a competitive, yearlong community health fellowship with Project Horseshoe Farm, a national nonprofit dedicated to strengthening healthcare through relationships and community engagement.
Active across campus, Word is a Louis A. Hurst Jr. Presidential Endowed Scholar with the Shackouls Honors College and currently serves as a New Maroon Camp counselor and Music Maker Productions student director. He also has been a Student Association senator and a Delta Scholars Summer Institute Fellow. For nearly two years, Word has worked as an emergency medical technician with Pafford Emergency Medical Services, and he aspires to become a doctor.
Beginning this summer, Word will continue his medical education with Project Horseshoe鈥檚 13-month fellowship in Greensboro, Alabama, where he will participate in an immersive program pairing future healthcare leaders with residents to better understand patient-centered care beyond clinical settings. Drawn to medicine for its human-centered impact, Word said the fellowship aligns closely with his goal of improving both individual and community health.
鈥淲hat drives me is community building and placemaking, and medicine is a great way to contribute to that. I鈥檓 as interested in healing communities as I am in healing people,鈥 Word said. 鈥淚'm not sure what specialty I want to go into yet, but I know that whatever it is, I want it to give me space to be as embedded in my community as I am in the hospital.鈥
Before attending medical school, Word said an opportunity like this gap-year can help him focus on the primary reason he is studying medicine: patient relationships.
Throughout the fellowship, Word will be paired with approximately 10 Greensboro residents acting as what the program describes as a 鈥渘onprofessional caring neighbor鈥 in nursing homes, schools, independent living facilities and other healthcare settings.
鈥淚鈥檓 excited to connect with different members of the community and experience patient care from the patient鈥檚 perspective, especially when most of my career will be experiencing patient care from the doctor鈥檚 perspective,鈥 Word said.
鈥淚鈥檒l have real-world experience in what a strong example of community health looks like and be able to ground my education in that real-world experience,鈥 he said.
MSU鈥檚 Office of Prestigious External Scholarships provided support for Word throughout the application process. Learn more about how MSU helps connect students with competitive scholarships and fellowships at . The Shackouls Honors College is online at .
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