Hello, Everyone!

July 10, 2020. Hello, everyone! My name is Edom Girma. I am originally from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and moved to the U.S. when I turned 18. I will soon be starting my first year of medical school at the University of Vermont! When I saw a Clemmons Family Farm student intern opportunity posted in the Robert Larner College of Medicine newsletter, I JUMPED ON IT. I am beyond thrilled because I will get to work with 5-10 of their collaborating artists to develop a creative COVID-19 prevention and wellness communication campaign for Black/African-American Vermonters.​​

Even though I've worked on health education projects in the past, none of them took the creative approach that the Clemmons Family Farm is taking to combine arts, science and communication to help our people. Right now, Lydia has me researching current prevention and wellness practices among Black/African-American communities around the US, what motivates different types of people to wear masks, socially distance, wash hands, etc. and also what can make it difficult or discourage us from doing these things. I'm also looking at other COVID-19 prevention and wellness communication campaigns for Black people around the US to see what we can learn from these examples. In a week or so, I'll be meeting remotely with some of the Farm's collaborating artists to discuss what I've found out and to start some creative brainstorming. I'm so excited about all of this and will be sharing my progress with all of you as I move forward.
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By the way, I completed my undergraduate degree at the University of Northern Colorado where I received a B.S. in Biology and a Master of Science at Drexel University College of Medicine. I am also an artist. During my spare time, I love to paint. I hope to not only deepen my understanding of public health but also how the arts can be used as a tool in medicine. This work is so important. Thank you to Haymarket People's Fund for their support for this exciting project. Tomorrow, I'll share some art with you!