Donors make significant impact on students during pandemic
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As the COVID-19 virus forced businesses to close their doors, the UIC SPH saw the ripple effect of the shelter in place order on its students. Because many public health students work in retail or the food industry to help pay for their education, the unfortunate consequence of businesses closing was students losing their jobs. Thankfully, many donors stepped up and donated to the Student Support Fund, which provides various types of support to students in need. Over the past year, nearly $30,000 from the fund was used for emergency grants to thirty-one students who faced hardships like job loss and housing insecurity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Robert (MPH ’76) and Mrs. Kay Merrick, both alumni from UIC, made a lead gift to the Student Support Fund in the fall of 2020. Bob, a retired pathologist, and Kay, a former educator with the Chicago Public Schools, credit their daughterin- law with informing them of the hurdles that many college students were facing as the pandemic first began. “It had been many years since either one of us was a college student, so it was eye-opening to hear that so many students were in need of support due to classes going remote and jobs being lost,” Kay said. “We felt strongly about supporting students because we know how important earning a degree, especially in public health, is these days. We were very impressed with the work being done at the School of Public Health and were glad to be able to contribute the success of its students during this challenging time,” Bob said.
The fund helped make sure that students like Gizelle Alvarez, (B.A. ’16) were able to remain in school despite losing employment income. Alvarez, who served as the President of the Minority Students for the Advancement of Public Health, received funds to help pay for some of her basic needs, such as rent. With this support, she was able to stay focused on school, ensuring she reached her academic goals, which including being able to graduate with her MPH in environmental and occupational health sciences in May 2021. “I am extremely grateful for the support that I received from donors during the COVID-19 crisis. This has been a very uncertain time for everyone and I am sure the support given to students, like myself, lifted much of that uncertainty and stress from their shoulders,” she said.
Jabari Taylor, MPH candidate in health policy and administration, says that the COVID-19 crisis affirmed his deci sion to work in public health.
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The pandemic this year has disproportionately affected marginalized communities not only in the United States but globally. This has made me realize that my passion laid specifically in public health and changing the ways that we address inequities in our communities at a policy level.
| MPH in Health Policy and Administration Candidate
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Funding from the Student Support Fund helped Taylor with some of his utility bills, which became increasingly difficult to pay due to reduced hours at his job.
A degree in public health is so important right now and Bob said having an MPH opened many doors for him during his career. After retiring as a pathologist, Bob served as the medical director for quality at Blessing Hospital in Quincy and medical director for the Adams County Health Department, a career shift that was made possible because he had a public health degree in addition to his MD.
“Both of us would not have been able to earn the degrees we had if it were not for the University of Illinois Chicago being the great state school that it is,” Bob said. “The University served us well. We have been successful and we want to give back so that others can be successful.”