Emily Ayers

Hometown:  Bradenton, FL and Tallahassee, FL

Educational background: FSU 2010-2014

Host Site: UF Health

What is your title and role at your host site? I will be serving as the Women’s Services Outreach Associate at UF Health. In this role, I will be serving with several different programs, including Healthy Start, Nurse Family Partnership, and Little Miracles. These programs are in place to provide support and education to pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding mothers. 

Why did you join AmeriCorps/National Health Corps? I have always known that I wanted to join AmeriCorps. I have been volunteering since I was a child, starting my volunteering career with the ManaTeens, a local volunteering group in Bradenton, FL. The ManaTeens hosted an AmeriCorps Vista program and I was really impressed by the difference that the Vista members made in the community. But I wanted to join the National Health Corps when I began to pay attention to politics and the world outside of the US. I realized that the US has dismal health statistics compared to all other industrialized countries. Participating in the National Health Corps gives me the opportunity to have a direct impact on access to healthcare in the Jacksonville area. 

What are you hoping to gain from your year of service? I hope to really find my focus on service delivery within the field of public health. I am interested in both direct and indirect service, but I hope to find out where I am strongest so that I can make the greatest impact possible.

What are your plans after AmeriCorps service? I hope to attend a joint social work/public health Master’s program and continue to find ways to improve access to healthcare and overall health of people in the communities that I call home.

Where do you envision yourself in 5 years? I would love to be an independently contracted Program Coordinator and perhaps working towards a Doctorate and teaching at the college level.