Beyond the Classroom: Auburn Students Lead the Way in Rural Health
By: Mikailie Caulder

In the heart of Alabama’s rural landscapes, where basic healthcare often rests on fragile systems, a new wave of practitioners is emerging, not defined by degrees or titles, but by commitment, empathy, and grit. These are Auburn University students, public health visionaries, aspiring audiologists, upcoming nurse practitioners, and future policy leaders, who step beyond the classroom and into underserved communities. Whether bringing donated hearing aids into the clinic, building micro pantries for food-insecure families, or leading girl talk sessions about menstrual health in high school classrooms, these students aren’t just learning, they’re transforming. The Rural Health Initiative has become their ground of purpose, where academic knowledge collides with real-world urgency, and compassion becomes action in the community. Through their stories, we see not only the challenges of rural health but more prominently the quiet victories that make the work worthwhile.

Each student who engages with the Rural Health Initiative brings a unique background, a personal drive, and a shared sense of purpose. For Chris Khalaf, inspiration came from the book Mountains Beyond Mountains, which sparked the realization that meaningful solutions start at the community level. “Despite interventions,” he says, “the most intriguing thing to me was how the community-based health model was implemented.” By building micro pantries at the Chambers County Community Health and Wellness Center, Khalaf has helped remove barriers that once stood between families and food products. “People can access food and gain resources that were previously unavailable,” he reflects, emphasizing the tangible impact of a small yet intentional effort.

Similarly, Sarah Controy, a nurse of 23 years pursuing her Family Nurse Practitioner degree, addressed period poverty in Chambers County High School. Initially, the program focused on contraceptive education, but after reading a notebook of student-asked questions from the health fair, she quickly adapted, explaining, “We realized that we needed to back it down and do programming based on menstrual health at the high school level.” She described her experience connecting with students as transformative. “We sat in a circle and talked about all things in the notebook. It was special because I had girl talk and gained a connection with the high schoolers.” These efforts reflect a truth at the heart of the Rural Health Initiative. Rural healthcare isn’t just about medicine, it’s the relationships, trust, and meeting people where they are that make this work worthwhile.

For doctoral audiology students Kensley Brewis and Lexy Barraza, the Rural Health Initiative has become a platform to serve communities, reminding them of home. “I’m from a rural area in Alabama, as it is, which inspires me to give back to these communities,” Brewis shared. Her weekly clinic visits in Chambers County not only addressed hearing loss with donated hearing aids but also reignited confidence in patients who had been struggling in silence. “When you can’t hear, many people don’t want to get out of their houses and talk to people,” she explained. “We help people get their hearing back and become more social in their community.” For Barraza, the mission is personal. Born in a small town with limited healthcare access, she noticed the healthcare disparities, particularly within the Hispanic population. While working with the Rural Health Initiative, she launched a hearing aid donation project, helping community members gain their hearing back without a financial burden. “Being in a rural area is a multifactorial thing,” she noted. “Accessibility, affordability, and distance, all of these things can be factors in obtaining healthcare.” Through their work, Brewis and Barraza highlight how specialized care, when made accessible, changes lives in profound and lasting ways.

Melissa Garnes entered the Rural Health Initiative with a passion for maternal and child health, shaped by her experiences as a child life intern in South Africa. Drawing from her own background growing up in rural Ohio after spending early childhood in Germany as part of a military family, she quickly recognized the challenges rural families face in accessing health services. “One of the challenges is coming into a community without expectations for them,” she explained. “We automatically want to jump in and start helping people, but taking the time to slow down and get to know them, to center on their needs is essential.” Through her logistical and program management role, Garnes has helped coordinate health fairs and support healthcare service planning, all while gaining insights into the balance of building trust and ensuring continuity. “This internship has given me a new lens on what it takes to build a community,” she reflected. “It’s shown me the reality of what the people in our communities are facing.” Her experience reinforces that rural health equity requires more than good intentions. It demands humility, partnership, and persistence.

Across each story, transformation emerges as a common theme. The students didn’t just provide care, education, or resources; they listened, learned, and adapted. Their advice to students interested in the Rural Health Initiative is both practical and inspiring. “Get out of your comfort zone and speak to community members,” urges Khalaf, emphasizing that meaningful impact starts with understanding. Barraza echoed that spirit, encouraging students to “be open-minded. Even helping out one or two hours each week will make a big impact.” Controy framed her experience simply: “Do it. You will absolutely love it, and it will be way more fulfilling than it will be work.” For Garnes, the message is just as much about courage as compassion: “It’s okay to be scared, intimidated, or unsure. I think that’s what bravery is in general, you can be scared, but be brave enough to work through it.” Their experiences reflect a larger truth: healthcare in rural communities thrives when rooted in genuine community integration. In doing so, these students don’t just impact the lives of those they serve, they transform their own.

The Auburn University Rural Health Initiative is more than a service program, it’s a mutual exchange of knowledge, empathy, and growth. Through hands-on work in rural communities, these students are gaining clinical and professional skills while cultivating a deeper understanding of resilience, equity, and human connection. Their voices echo with passion and purpose, reminding us that the path to a healthier future runs through relationships, not just resources. As the next generation of healthcare leaders, their stories offer hope and direction, proof that when students are empowered to lead with empathy, they become a catalyst for change beyond the classroom.