This summer’s Juneteenth celebrations in the historic African American community of Sandy Spring were lively, musical and rich with storytelling from residents descended from formerly enslaved Black people who gained freedom within one of Maryland’s oldest Quaker communities.
“Going immediately out into a community event was a surprising entryway into our internships — usually you think of being in an office. It was astonishing to see so many people show up to support the community and loudly reclaim their health and their history. It showed us what public health looks like out in the world,” said Bamidele Odubayo, who graduated Spring 2025 with a BS in Public Health Practice and a minor in Human Development.
Odubayo was one of three UMD student interns who spent the summer learning on the job with the African American Health Program (AAHP), a community health organization based in Rockville, Maryland. AAHP aims to improve health for Black residents and people of African descent in Montgomery County. Odubayo worked alongside UMD public health science graduates, Chiamaka Nweke ‘25 and Nana Gybaah-Kesse ‘25.
“We really involve interns in the breadth of programs that we run, because we want to give them the full experience of what it means to engage meaningfully in community health work,” said Dr. Darlene Saunders, Ph.D ‘09, diabetes specialist, who supervises interns at AAHP and is also a public health Terp.
AAHP runs holistic health programs that respond to the specific needs and within the cultural context of local Black and African communities, including addressing chronic conditions like diabetes and kidney disease, both of which disproportionately affect these communities. Aiming to bring health care as close to the people as possible, AAHP runs a host of health education and outreach services online and also in person in existing community structures like churches, shelters and senior centers.
Interns got involved in many aspects of these community public health projects. They supported AAHP’s routine health screenings that help people monitor their health, including testing glucose and cholesterol levels, blood pressure, HIV testing and grip strength. The interns also got creative, producing a video to introduce the benefits of AAHP's Chronic Disease Management Program to a wider audience. The interns researched and designed a kidney health and diabetes-friendly cookbook as well as a resource pamphlet for AAHP’s maternal and child health home visiting program.
For Nweke, who grew up in Baltimore to Nigerian parents, some of the most meaningful parts of the internship were the relationships she made with community members who shared her background.
“It was the first experience I had of seeing public health in action, especially for a vulnerable community with whom I deeply resonate. The most interesting [part] for me was connecting with Montgomery county residents,” she said.
“It was the first experience I had of seeing public health in action."
Saunders notes that it’s not all smooth sailing for students when adapting from the classroom to community work.
“Of course there are challenges, but that is good! This is what they will face in the real world. You just have to figure it out,” she said. “It’s very important to come out of school with the theoretical underpinnings and then also get experience in applying these public health principles to real-world situations.”
“I got to truly see the importance of taking preventive measures like regular screening for blood pressure, blood sugar and HIV/STI testing."
Odubayo, who plans to pursue an MPH in epidemiology, said working at AAHP showed her the effectiveness of prevention.
“I got to truly see the importance of taking preventive measures like regularly screening for blood pressure, blood sugar and HIV/STI testing. The earlier something is caught, the better chance you have at turning it around for the better,” she said.
Nweke wants to become a doctor of nursing practice specializing in pediatrics and dreams of one day running her own practice that also addresses the needs of underrepresented groups.
“My time at AAHP serving community members and seeing the direct impact [the organization’s efforts] had on people really solidified my decision to go in this direction.”
