Zykevise Gamble applied rigorous scholarship, leadership skills and a passion for service to advance health equity in Atlanta and beyond.
Through his work with the Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences and Maternal and Child Health programs, Gamble has fostered community engagement to make inroads against challenges like maternal health disparities, food insecurity and overdose prevention. In keeping with these interests, his capstone project involved developing a grant proposal for a nutrition health referral tool for community health workers in Macon-Bibb County, Georgia.
“The community-engaged aspect of public health is what attracted me to the field,” Gamble says. “During my senior year at Howard University, I completed an internship with the community-based organization Martha's Table. As a healthy foods intern, I distributed fresh produce to students at local elementary schools and promoted healthy dieting practices by providing recipes to families living in under-resourced communities. This real-world experience of learning from public health practitioners passionate about food justice and health equity inspired me to pursue my MPH.”
Following Commencement, the Belmont, North Carolina, native will complete the 12-month Excellence in Mentorship for Unity, Resilience and Growth in Health Leaders Fellowship program through the Kennedy Krieger Institute.
“Upon completion of my fellowship, I plan to attend medical school to become a pediatrician,” he says. “My long-term career goal is to advance racial equity through research, health education and community engagement.”
The hands-on experience Gamble has attained through his academic career so far serves as a strong foundation for these aspirations.
“As president of the Association for Black Public Health Students, I led programming including the monthly lunch and learn, which featured discussions with public health practitioners in federal service, consulting and research, as well as community-oriented events and mentorship opportunities for current students,” says Gamble.
He also conducted postpartum planning intervention research as a graduate research assistant in the Emory School of Medicine.
“I had the opportunity to apply theoretical frameworks to evaluate a postpartum program which focuses on addressing unmet needs at Grady,” he says. “I was able to apply classroom foundational knowledge in real-world settings.”
Outside of Emory, Gamble serves as a maternal health equity program associate at the Center for Black Women’s Wellness.
“I am a part of Project IMPACT, which is a study designed to learn how to start a preconception counseling program in the Southeast and to create programs for healthy mothers, fathers and babies,” he says. “Additionally, I am a part of the SIREN Engagement Project, which focuses on developing a screening and referral tool to be utilized during obstetric care visits. This position provides me the opportunity to engage with community members and learn more about their lived experiences. It’s also an opportunity to develop solutions to address maternal health disparities in Georgia.”
As a program specialist with the CDC Foundation, Gamble was a member of the Overdose Prevention Pilot Indicator project, which focuses on developing and testing selected overdose prevention indicators within local communities.
“These indicators will be a part of the Overdose Measures Matter website, a resource for community-based organizations, local health departments and health systems to evaluate their overdose prevention programs,” he says. “Through this experience I was able to push myself to engage with a challenging public health issue.”
Teaniese Davis, an adjunct instructor in the Behavioral, Social and Health Education Sciences program at Rollins, has full confidence in Gamble’s continued success.
“Zykevise was locked in from the beginning,” she says. “He stood out to me from the first day because he has a clear passion and interest in public health. Zykevise will always land on his feet because he thinks about what's next. He keeps the main thing the main thing. He's really focused on what he wants to do, yet open to shifting the journey to get there if needed. It's an important quality. He's both focused and flexible. I look forward to seeing him thrive with each new endeavor.”
Gamble’s experiences at Rollins "have allowed me to strengthen my leadership skills, gain confidence in my research skills and redefine my reason for pursuing a career in medicine,” he says. “I believe these experiences will allow me to become a well-rounded physician.”