Cynthia Trawick

The CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program is a multi-institutional pathway initiative designed to prepare undergraduate and recently graduated students for future education and careers in public health through integrated didactic and experiential learning. Although program models vary by site in modality, duration, and curricular emphasis, all seven partner institutions include 4 pillar components: didactic instruction, experiential learning, research development and dissemination, and professional development. Since its launch in 2012, the program has expanded from four to seven sites and has served an estimated 2671 scholars. Across sites, scholars have contributed substantial public health practice hours through experiential learning placements in more than 240 governmental, academic, Tribal, health care, and community-based organizations. These findings illustrate how diverse implementation models can support a shared framework for undergraduate public health training and inform future pathway program design, adaptation, and scale.

The CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program supports undergraduate scholars in exploring education and careers in public health. Throughout the summer experience, scholars participate in mentored experiential learning opportunities designed to support professional identity formation and career readiness. In 2025, across 7 program sites, the program recruited over 190 mentors through institutional and community networks aligned with shared public health goals. The selection, recruitment, and training process for mentors prepares them to support scholars in navigating through public health exploration and placement. Additional mentoring support structures are integrated across program sites to support scholars during the summer program and as they pursue future public health education and career opportunities. Mentor presence throughout each component of the summer program has a lasting impact on how scholars perceive public health. This scalable model offers practical guidance for implementing mentorship programs across multiple program sites while maintaining quality and consistency.

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