UDallas Student Sean Mixon Receives Prestigious Schweitzer Fellowship

2017 Jul 19

Sean Mixon of Cedar Hill, Texas, a student in the University of Dallas Braniff Graduate School of Liberal Arts, was recently announced as one of 12 Albert Schweitzer Fellows in the Dallas-Fort Worth metro area for 2017-18, and one of approximately 240 fellows working around the United States.

"My mission is to give these students a voice," said Mixon, only a few weeks into the summer writing program he established at the Elsie Robertson Lancaster Middle School in Southern Dallas County.

Schweitzer Fellows develop and implement service projects - like Mixon's summer writing program - to address the root causes of health disparities in under-resourced communities.

As the university's first recipient of the prestigious fellowship, Mixon will continue developing the literacy skills of Lancaster middle schoolers who fall below their grade level throughout the next year, while also learning how to effectively address the lower socioeconomic factors that can negatively affect one's health.

Upon completion of his project, Mixon will formally become one of more than 3,400 Schweitzer Fellows for Life - skilled in, and committed to, addressing the needs of underserved people.

The Dallas-Fort Worth Schweitzer Fellowship Program helps Fellows design and execute projects that meet the health needs of underserved populations, improving the lives of vulnerable people. The program marks a unique collaboration between eight Dallas-Fort Worth universities. Housed at Southern Methodist University, supporting universities include the Baylor University Louise Herrington School of Nursing, Texas Christian University, Texas Woman's University, the University of Dallas, University of Texas at Arlington, University of Texas at Dallas and UT Southwestern Medical Center.