UMSN Introduces Two Coverdell Fellows

The master’s students are returned Peace Corps volunteers who will utilize their international abilities in local communities.

“Working internationally allowed me to see the successes and limitations of health care on a global scale and how nursing interventions on the local, individual level can make drastic changes in a nation’s ability to compete and succeed globally,” says University of Michigan School of Nursing (UMSN) master’s student Robert Flood. He and Ashleigh Shiffler are UMSN’s newest Peace Corps Coverdell Fellows. 

The Paul D. Coverdell Fellowship is awarded to Peace Corps volunteers who successfully completed their two years of service and are now enrolled in a master’s program. As part of the Coverdell Fellows Program, the students are expected to complete an internship or clinical placement related to their area of interest in an underserved local community.

Flood, who completed his Peace Corps service in the Republic of Vanuatu, plans to focus on occupational health. He is currently working on a clinical assignment at an urgent care facility that serves several manufacturing communities in Mid-Michigan and individuals without health insurance. “My Peace Corps service helped me develop the skills, cultural sensitivity and information dissemination experience needed not only for my successful completion of service but also to insure success in my future as a nurse,” says Flood.

During her Peace Corps service, Shiffler primarily worked as a Health Extension Volunteer with the Healthy Schools project in Guatemala. She collaborated with local leaders, including the mayor, superintendent, principals, and teachers from three rural primary schools to implement a school health program that included ensuring each school had the infrastructure (clean latrines, potable water, and efficient stoves) to support healthy habits. She also directed an overnight camp for underprivileged teen girls focusing on leadership skills, reproductive health, and goal setting; provided HIV/AIDS prevention training to students, teachers, and community members and worked to provide CPR mannequins and education to local villages.

Shiffler is a graduate of UMSN’s Second Career program and is currently a master’s student in UMSN’s midwifery program. She said she was struck by the support that women in rural Guatemala had throughout their pregnancies. “Helping women to build a community of support during their childbearing experiences - through initiatives like centering or group prenatal care - is one of the components of my work in Guatemala that I hope to incorporate into my future midwifery practice here,” says Shiffler. “I would love to provide care for Spanish-speaking women and their families - maybe even getting to work with some of the many Guatemalan women who have immigrated to Michigan in recent years. “

(Read about UMSN’s first Coverdell Fellow, Clara Julien.)