Midwestern University Medical Student Earns Prestigious Schweitzer Fellowship

Eriq Gassé, a fourth-year student at Midwestern University's Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM), has been selected as a 2026-27 Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellow, a competitive year-long service-learning program that supports graduate students who develop innovative projects to improve the health of underserved communities.

For his project, Eriq will deliver an emergency preparedness education program for immigrant communities in Pilsen. The program will teach immigrant families when to call 911, how to communicate with first responders, and lifesaving skills including two-step CPR and Stop the Bleed. "Many immigrant families are hesitant to call 911 because they don't know what to expect or fear interacting with the emergency response system," Eriq said. "If people leave this program knowing one lifesaving skill and feeling confident enough to call for help when it's needed, we've made a real difference." 

Turning Emergency Medicine Experience into Service

Before medical school, Eriq worked in emergency medical services where he frequently cared for immigrant patients who relied on emergency departments as their primary point of access to healthcare. Those experiences showed him how limited health literacy and fear of seeking care could leave families vulnerable during emergencies. After moving to Chicago, he recognized many of the same challenges in immigrant communities. "I wanted to take the emergency education we were already providing through CCOM's Emergency Medicine Club and bring it directly into the community," he said.

Eriq said his education at Midwestern University gave him both the confidence and opportunity to turn the idea into a community service project. Through CCOM's Emergency Medicine Club, he helped teach Stop the Bleed training during CCOM's Mini Med School and other outreach events, experiences that inspired him to expand those educational programs into Chicago neighborhoods. Faculty mentorship also helped shape the project.  He credits faculty mentor April Brill, D.O., Chair, Clinical Education, with encouraging him to pursue the project and use his interests to serve others. "That support gave me the confidence to expand the work we were already doing at CCOM into the community," Eriq said.

Preparing for a Lifetime of Service

Named in honor of humanitarian and Nobel laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program encourages students to become lifelong leaders in service by addressing unmet health needs among Chicagoland residents. Each fellow collaborates with existing community organizations to develop a community-based project and dedicate 200 hours of service.

 "Leading this project has confirmed that this is the community I want to serve throughout my career as an emergency physician," Eriq said. "If it helps save even one life, it will have been worth it."

In addition to his service project, Eriq and his peers will also participate in a thirteen-month program that includes monthly meetings, training, and ongoing opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration as well as support from a team of mentors from their schools, project sites, alumni network, and staff. The new Fellows join a network of over 800 Chicago alumni.