Chicago, July 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Victoria Roehl, a student in the Master of Nursing Leadership program at North Park University (NPU), has been named a 2025–26 Schweitzer Fellow, a prestigious honor given to graduate students to lead innovative, service-driven projects that address health inequities in Chicago’s underserved communities.
Named in honor of Nobel laureate Dr. Albert Schweitzer, the yearlong program uses an interdisciplinary approach to address unmet health needs in Chicago’s underserved neighborhoods.
Roehl’s project will focus on improving quality of life for cancer survivors through mindfulness-based self-care planning. In partnership with the University of Illinois Chicago Cancer Center, she will lead educational classes and provide participants with digital tools to set meaningful, personalized goals as they navigate survivorship. She plans to graduate from NPU in 2026.
“I chose to focus on a project that would strengthen cancer survivors’ sense of well-being to help create personalized roadmaps for self-care in conjunction with mindfulness,” Roehl said, adding that lifelong emotional stress is part of any cancer diagnosis. “The consequence of psychological stress negatively impacts survivorship, and this is magnified in communities with high socioeconomic deficits.”
“North Park University’s mission is to prepare students for lives of significance and service,” said Mary Shehan, NPU’s graduate nursing programs director. “The Schweitzer Fellowship is an exceptional opportunity for Victoria to utilize the city of Chicago as a platform for learning and service.”
Shannon Sweetnam, spokeswoman for the Schweitzer Program, said Roehl was selected from a competitive pool of 100 applicants with backgrounds including art therapy and public health.
For 29 years, the Chicago Area Schweitzer Fellows Program has provided a platform for graduate students in health-related fields. The program has provided more than 130,000 hours of community service to more than 150 Chicagoland community service organizations.
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Ellen Almer, (773) 244-5747, [email protected]
CONTACT: Ellen Almer North Park University 312-543-8505 [email protected]
