This past summer, Iowa native Alexis Dirksen ’29 traveled to the Philippines as part of a Global Social Impact Fellowship, a program that allows students to address sustainable development challenges in low-resource countries. According to Dirksen, tuberculosis is one of the most influential diseases around the world, and the Philippines currently has the third-highest number of tuberculosis cases globally.
Dirksen supported a project called TrackTB: Transforming TB Treatment Through Patient-Centered Digital Health Solutions, an innovative digital health initiative dedicated to transforming tuberculosis (TB) treatment adherence and communication between patients and providers in the Philippines. This system features a digital health platform where patients can track their TB medication through daily surveys connected with a messaging app; this data is integrated into existing health records used by the Filipino healthcare system. Dirksen interacted with the clinics through a communication-focused role.
Alexis Dirksen is the first named recipient of the Samara M. Everman ’23 Memorial Endowment Fund, which supports experiential learning opportunities within the College of Health. This funding made Dirksen’s travel abroad possible. A member of the first cohort to graduate from the College of Health (COH) with plans for graduate studies at the COH, Samara tragically died in a car accident in California only two months after graduation.
Tana Everman, Samara’s mother, shared that Samara was a first-generation college student who had found her niche in the new college. She was extremely passionate about health equality, particularly women’s health. As an undergraduate, Samara conducted research “as a humanitarian representative” in Sierra Leone and felt she was there to help people.
“She would often put her hand on her hip and say, ‘Not everybody starts in the same spot. So how could we possibly all have equal opportunity? The system isn’t designed that way,’ ” Tana recalled.
Samara’s mother and extended family honored her legacy by the creation of the endowment fund. “It felt fitting to us that at this time, when she was entering into grad school under some scholarship, that she continued that work in her death — that she would be able to continue supporting and helping the causes that she believed in so passionately,” Tana said.
“Samara was an exceptional student and researcher whose deep commitment to advancing health equity, especially in women’s health, was at the heart of everything she did,” said Fathima Wakeel, associate professor in the COH’s department of population health. “For two years, she worked alongside me on my maternal resilience research, remaining deeply engaged until her passing. Her contributions were invaluable, and I truly could not have done this work without her. She is recognized posthumously as a co-author on a paper resulting from our work together. Her dedication, compassion and commitment to making a difference will remain an enduring part of her legacy.”
For Dirksen, traveling to the Philippines was incredibly meaningful, not only because it was her first time abroad, but also because it allowed her to explore an area of study that had captured her interest. In addition to public health, she is fascinated by the intersection of medication and outside influence and how that affects the body and brain.
Dirksen chose to attend Lehigh because of the “amazing research” opportunities. “My dream actually is to go pre-med for surgery, and I want to continue doing research and connecting to the public health sphere throughout all that,” she said. Through her epidemiology minor, she hopes to look at disease spread and how drugs, disease, and processing are all connected.
The Everman Fund is helping to make this vision a reality.
“I’m just incredibly grateful that this has given me the opportunity to see new places, to help people and to really immerse myself into what public health is,” she said.
Samara Everman '23 Outside the COH
To make a gift to the Samara M. Everman ’23 Memorial Endowment Fund and support future hands-on learning experiences, please click here.
