Summer 2019 Courier Internship Program
Every summer, Frontier Nursing University (FNU) gives college students from around the country an opportunity to participate in the Courier Program. This service-learning experience is an opportunity for students interested in public health, health care or related fields to see what it is like to provide medical care to an underserved population. This summer, nine students are answering the call to serve in rural Kentucky.
Read more about each of the Couriers who answered the call to serve in these communities:
Eric Lakomek
Eric is a 20-year-old rising junior from Saint John, Indiana. He attends Wabash College, where he is majoring in psychology with a minor in global health and chemistry. His hope is to attend medical school post-graduation. During his time in college, he has been a member of Phi Delta Theta and has been involved in the Wabash Dance Marathon, Global Health Initiative, the Public Health Organization, and his school’s baseball team. Eric looks forward to beginning his journey as a 2019 Courier and is excited to learn this upcoming summer!
What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done?
The craziest thing I have ever done was starting the “Red Shoe Project”. As a freshman in high school, I started a project that collects sports equipment for underprivileged children. It all started in my community from an idea and today it spans across four states and has national recognition. I never thought that it would end up the way that it did, but it has been extremely fulfilling to give others the chance to play the sports that I have loved all of my life.
HaLee OrLena Morgan
HaLee OrLena Morgan is from Hyden, KY. She is FNU’s first official “Local Courier” and we are excited to welcome her aboard! HaLee is 20 years old and graduated from Leslie County High School in Hyden. She is in college but is looking to transfer somewhere where she can complete her degree. She plans to obtain her RN license next year. After that, she hopes to attend Frontier Nursing University to obtain her degree with an FNP specialty. Her ultimate goal is to become a pediatric nurse practitioner and serve rural communities such as Hyden.
Who is your personal hero?
Not to sound cliche, but I am my own hero.
Dorn McMahon
Dorn left suburban New Jersey in search of “The Way Life Should Be” and arrived in Maine in the summer of 2001. Since moving to Maine, he has acquired a deep appreciation for contra dancing, maple syrup, and farm-to-table cuisine. When Dorn is not working, studying or powerlifting he spends his time watching his nephew’s basketball games and reading books to his niece. Currently, Dorn is a junior in the nursing program at the University of Maine at Fort Kent and hopes to continue working in the medical field with a focus on Population Health.
If you could have dinner with any one person, living or dead, who would they be and why?
I would like to share a salmon steak supper with my dear friend and second chance Dad, Big Al. Big Al encouraged me on my path to nursing until his death in August 2017. As a 30-year veteran of Rural Emergency Medicine, I heeded all his career and life guidance. He also taught me how to ride a motorcycle. I would like to catch up with him and ask him if there are Harley Davidsons in heaven.
Emily Cross
Emily Cross is a recent Skidmore College graduate from Andover, MA. She has a degree in neuroscience and a minor in theater. She spent the last year working on her thesis looking into maternal and paternal methamphetamine use in fruit flies. She has been an EMT for three years and has volunteered with several hospice organizations. Last year, she lived in Denmark for six months while studying psychopharmacology at the Danish Institute of Study Abroad. Currently, she is applying for medical school in the hopes of becoming a palliative care doctor or a forensic pathologist. Emily enjoys Netflix binges with friends, scuba diving, her Birkenstocks and her dogs.
What animal best represents you and why?
A sloth. I love sleep and I try to be as stress-free (like a sloth) as best as I can.
Breanna Bowling
Breanna is a Public Health pre-med student at Eastern Kentucky University. She is passionate about being engaged in her campus and community through her involvement in the Honors program, the Service Council, and a service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega. She also loves reading, art, yoga, hiking, and spending time with her friends and family. In the future, she wishes to pursue an MD, MPH dual degree to better her community and world.
If you could master one skill you don’t have right now, what would it be?
One skill that I would love to master is painting. I love to do art but college has completely taken away a lot of the time I have to work on my skills and to simply enjoy making art. While art for art’s sake is important, it would be really nice to paint something and feel that it is really great.
Audrey Cameron
Audrey is a rising junior at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in Vancouver, Canada. She is studying Honours Philosophy with a minor in Health and Society. For the past year, Audrey has been involved with her school’s First Aid Team, providing first aid coverage at UBC community events, including mental health and substance use first aid. She also works with the Education and Outreach branch of the team, facilitating workshops on student health. As a College Advisor at UBC, Audrey acts as a mentor to first-year commuter students, helping to ensure a smooth transition, both academically and socially to university life. Audrey loves to explore the outdoors, read, play the violin and relax with friends. She is very much looking forward to working in the community this summer, making connections, learning well, and serving those around her.
Who is your personal hero?
A personal hero of mine is Gina Rodriguez. She is an actress from one of my favorite TV shows, Jane the Virgin. She is a brilliant actress, and someone I have much respect for. She has a lot of philanthropic projects and uses her platform to give recognition to people doing good things in their communities. I really appreciate her advocacy for marginalized groups, and that she isn’t afraid to speak out for what she thinks is right.
Daniel Goold
Daniel Goold is a 22-year-old from Northern California. He is currently a student at Brigham Young University. Some of his favorite hobbies are running, listening to music, cooking, playing Super Smash Brothers, or doing basically anything with a group of friends. Daniel is very passionate about the medical field and biology/chemistry in general – he loves to learn! He describes himself as very friendly and says he loves to make new friends.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
I hope to be in medical school studying to become a doctor, being active in my church and hopefully married!
Reilly Hail
Reilly is 21 years old and from Northern California, but will be relocating to Franklin, Tennessee after completing the Courier Program to start a nursing program in August. Reilly is very passionate about women’s health; she is working towards becoming a nurse-midwife. Reilly says that, given permission, she will talk your ear off about the Enneagram (I’m a true 4 wing 3), birth culture, the Liturgists podcast, BBC historical dramas and/or The Bachelor(ette). She is very excited about this opportunity to learn from people practicing the way that she sees herself practicing in the future, and she can’t wait to become more comfortable in a clinical setting.
Where Do You See Yourself in 5 Years?
Hopefully, I will be a midwifery student at FNU! Probably living somewhere besides Nashville but still in the South, and by then hopefully, my parents will be living out there too. I think I’ll be figuring out what it’ll look like for me to open my dream clinic. One thing I’m 100% sure about is that I’ll be married to my current boyfriend!
Sarah Baldree
Sarah Baldree is 20 years old and attends Williams College in Massachusetts. Although she is attending college in the northeast, she is originally from Macon, Georgia. Sarah is working on a double major in Biology and Psychology and will be spending Fall 2019 studying in Amsterdam. Sarah is the youngest of three sisters and she loves sweet tea, silly puns, and her two dogs, Ollie and Belle.
What is the craziest thing you have ever done?
Like most teenagers, I got my driver’s license at 16, but then at 17, I went further and got my motorcycle license, too! A lot of people have told me I’m crazy for driving a motorcycle, but both of my parents and one of my sisters also have their motorcycle license so if I’m crazy, at least it’s not my fault!
FNU would like to thank these Couriers for answering the call to serve in Appalachia this summer. We know that this will be a rewarding experience for you and those you serve. Welcome to the FNU Courier family!
Students of all majors and backgrounds are encouraged to apply for the Courier program – no formal medical education required. Apply today!
At the heart of Frontier Nursing University is a talented and diverse community of students, alumni, faculty, staff, Couriers, and preceptors. Spotlight blogs feature members of our FNU community who are focused on the mission of educating nurse-midwives and nurse practitioners to deliver quality health care to underserved and rural populations.
In 1928, Mary Breckinridge, founder of Frontier Nursing University established the Courier Program, recruiting young people to work in the Kentucky Mountains and learn about service to humanity. Couriers escorted guests safely through remote terrain, delivered medical supplies to remote outpost clinics, and helped nurse-midwives during home visits and births. Frontier has benefited tremendously from the 1,600 Couriers who have served since 1928.
The second group Maria has the opportunity to serve is local military families. Bay Area Midwifery Center provides a high-quality, convenient birthing option right where they live. In addition, one of Maria’s CNM colleagues is a 21-year veteran of the U.S. Navy, which makes our special military families feel more at home.
Although Maria has been busy serving her community as a nurse-midwife, she has still managed to add to her knowledge of best nursing practices. Since graduating from FNU in 2014, she has received her 
To Tarnia, the most important part of the DNP project is dissemination. She wants to encourage fellow students to take advantage of every opportunity to disseminate their work through posters and podium presentations. 
Carrie Belin is an experienced board-certified Family Nurse Practitioner and a graduate of the Johns Hopkins DNP program, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Georgetown University School of Nursing, and Johns Hopkins School of Nursing. She has also completed fellowships at Georgetown and the University of California Irvine.
Angie has been a full-scope midwife since 2009. She has experience in various birth settings including home, hospital, and birth centers. She is committed to integrating the midwifery model of care in the US. She completed her master’s degree in nurse-midwifery at Frontier Nursing University (FNU) and her Doctorate at Johns Hopkins University. She currently serves as the midwifery clinical faculty at FNU. Angie is motivated by the desire to improve the quality of healthcare and has led quality improvement projects on skin-to-skin implementation, labor induction, and improving transfer of care practices between hospital and community midwives. In 2017, she created a short film on skin-to-skin called 
Justin C. Daily, BSN, RN, has ten years of experience in nursing. At the start of his nursing career, Justin worked as a floor nurse on the oncology floor at St. Francis. He then spent two years as the Director of Nursing in a small rural Kansas hospital before returning to St. Francis and the oncology unit. He has been in his current position as the Chemo Nurse Educator for the past four years. He earned an Associate in Nurse from Hutchinson Community College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Bethel College.
Brandy Jackson serves as the Director of Undergraduate Nursing Programs and Assistant Educator at Wichita State University and Co-Director of Access in Nursing. Brandy is a seasoned educator with over 15 years of experience. Before entering academia, Brandy served in Hospital-based leadership and Critical Care Staff nurse roles. Brandy is passionate about equity in nursing education with a focus on individuals with disabilities. Her current research interests include accommodations of nursing students with disabilities in clinical learning environments and breaking down barriers for historically unrepresented individuals to enter the nursing profession. Brandy is also actively engaged in Interprofessional Education development, creating IPE opportunities for faculty and students at Wichita State. Brandy is an active member of Wichita Women for Good and Soroptimist, with the goal to empower women and girls. Brandy is a TeamSTEPPS master trainer. She received the DASIY Award for Extraordinary Nursing Faculty in 2019 at Wichita State University. 
Dr. Sabrina Ali Jamal-Eddine is an Arab-disabled queer woman of color with a PhD in Nursing and an interdisciplinary certificate in Disability Ethics from the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). Dr. Jamal-Eddine’s doctoral research explored spoken word poetry as a form of critical narrative pedagogy to educate nursing students about disability, ableism, and disability justice. Dr. Jamal-Eddine now serves as a Postdoctoral Research Associate in UIC’s Department of Disability and Human Development and serves on the Board of Directors of the National Organization of Nurses with Disabilities (NOND). During her doctoral program, Sabrina served as a Summer Fellow at a residential National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) Summer Institute at Arizona State University (2023), a summer fellow at Andrew W. Mellon’s National Humanities Without Walls program at University of Michigan (2022), a Summer Research Fellow at UC Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute (2021), and an Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities (LEND) trainee (2019-2020).
Vanessa Cameron works for Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nursing Education & Professional Development. She is also attending George Washington University and progressing towards a PhD in Nursing with an emphasis on ableism in nursing. After becoming disabled in April 2021, Vanessa’s worldview and perspective changed, and a recognition of the ableism present within healthcare and within the culture of nursing was apparent. She has been working since that time to provide educational foundations for nurses about disability and ableism, provide support for fellow disabled nursing colleagues, and advocate for the disabled community within healthcare settings to reduce disparities.
Dr. Lucinda Canty is a certified nurse-midwife, Associate Professor of Nursing, and Director of the Seedworks Health Equity in Nursing Program at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia University, a master’s degree from Yale University, specializing in nurse-midwifery, and a PhD from the University of Connecticut. Dr. Canty has provided reproductive health care for over 29 years. Her research interests include the prevention of maternal mortality and severe maternal morbidity, reducing racial and ethnic health disparities in reproductive health, promoting diversity in nursing, and eliminating racism in nursing and midwifery.
Dr. Lisa Meeks is a distinguished scholar and leader whose unwavering commitment to inclusivity and excellence has significantly influenced the landscape of health professions education and accessibility. She is the founder and executive director of the DocsWithDisabilities Initiative and holds appointments as an Associate Professor in the Departments of Learning Health Sciences and Family Medicine at the University of Michigan.
Dr. Nikia Grayson, DNP, MSN, MPH, MA, CNM, FNP-C, FACNM (she/her) is a trailblazing force in reproductive justice, blending her expertise as a public health activist, anthropologist, and family nurse-midwife to champion the rights and health of underserved communities. Graduating with distinction from Howard University, Nikia holds a bachelor’s degree in communications and a master’s degree in public health. Her academic journey also led her to the University of Memphis, where she earned a master’s in medical anthropology, and the University of Tennessee, where she achieved both a master’s in nursing and a doctorate in nursing practice. Complementing her extensive education, she completed a post-master’s certificate in midwifery at Frontier Nursing University.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).