BRYC's Health Fellows spent the summer in scrubs

Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy (HFA) is a partnership between BRYC, FranU, and The Baton Rouge Clinic.

By Elin Hawkinson
2024 Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy community health fair
Health Fellow Heaven Edwards (center) with friend Jacelyn Hastings (left) and Baton Rouge Clinic team member

Twenty-three Fellows learned what it takes to be hands-on healthcare practitioners with Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy (HFA), a three-year pilot project led by Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University and funded by a Louisiana Foundation grant. In July, the pilot launched with two immersive summer camps exclusively for BRYC Fellows, culminating in a community health fair hosted by BRYC and The Baton Rouge Clinic. During the school year, Health Fellows will also attend four bi-monthly workshops, and — beginning fall 2025 — FranU will offer dual-enrollment courses for participants interested in earning college credit. Fellows who complete all HFA activities will receive a scholarship.

Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy
Health Fellows Kierce Smith (left) and Amoree Beauchamp
Wolfpack: Health Fellows Academy
Health Fellow Nahtali Lawrence

“Since 2009, BRYC has supported aspiring Black healthcare professionals toward their career goals and more equitable representation across healthcare and allied fields,” said BRYC Chief of Programs Allie Diefendorf. “This goes beyond the economic implications for our alumni and their families — it’s a force multiplier, with ripple effects on the health of thousands of underserved Louisianans of color. We’re proud to partner with FranU’s HFA on pushing the needle even further, and we thank their team and faculty for providing such a robust, sustained learning opportunity to BRYC participants.”