Outstanding Student Leader
Amal Foufa
School of Nursing
Congratulations to our Outstanding Student Leader for February 2026, Amal Foufa from the School of Nursing!
Through the Community Outreach Program, Amal is working with Green and Healthy Homes Initiative to support its client intake process, developing guidance to improve clients' access to important resources, and supporting the organization's reach to communities across Maryland. Read our interview with Amal below to learn more about her experience!
Tell us about yourself! What brought you to the School of Nursing, and what made you want to get involved with GHHI in the Community Outreach Program?
I am a second semester MSN Nursing student from Toronto, ON! I have always been interested in nursing and the JHUSON gave me the opportunity to fulfill my dreams of being a nurse but also work in research and do community impact work which brought me to Baltimore! Back home, I was super involved in my community, and had a special interest in environmental advocacy, so when I saw the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative booth at the Bloomberg School of Public Health last fall at the community outreach fair, I knew immediately that was something that I wanted to get involved in. I applied into the Community Outreach Program and when I found out my work was going to be with GHHI, I was ecstatic and knew that I would be able to give back to a new community and get involved in ways that matter.
Can you share a little bit about the work you are doing with GHHI?
The majority of the work that I do at the Green and Healthy Homes Initiative is working with data entry and input. I work closely with our intake specialist who will speak with clients and provide their needs and reasons for reaching out, and then I will go into our system and create a client profile with all of their data and get them sorted to the correct department. I also work with merging duplicate client profiles, which helps us provide the most accurate and efficient care to our clients. A new project that I’ve been working on is a resource guide for the state of Maryland that will eventually be sent out to clients that will provide them with the most up to date information on where they can access the resources they need, which is super exciting! It will help us provide care to more clients that live all over the state, rather than centralized to Baltimore City/Baltimore County.
Are you aware of any opportunities for other students to volunteer at GHHI? If not, are you volunteering with any other organizations where students can also get involved?
Yes! The Green and Healthy Homes Initiative has so many opportunities and events for students to volunteer or attend throughout the year! We have our B’More Healthy Expo on Friday, February 6 which helps us reach thousands of potential clients, and since this is such a large-scale event, we would love student support on the day of! We also attend fairs at all of the East Baltimore campuses, where students can stop by and learn more about our work and get involved in the community!
My community work in COP helps me tie in the social determinants of health every day in both what I learn in the classroom and in my clinicals. It allows me to treat patients with a broader understanding of the various factors that impact their health, and also provides me with the appropriate resources to help them post-admission.
How does your community work in COP complement what you’re learning in the classroom at the School of Nursing?
My community work in COP helps me tie in the social determinants of health every day in both what I learn in the classroom and in my clinicals. It allows me to treat patients with a broader understanding of the various factors that impact their health, and also provides me with the appropriate resources to help them post-admission. For example, I was treating a patient with pneumonia due to their roof collapsing and having drafts in their home, and I was able to provide not only medical care but also provide them with resources to help with their home once they are discharged.
What is the most important experience you’ve had or most critical thing you’ve learned so far through working with our community?
The most important experience I’ve had working with our community in Baltimore is seeing first-hand the impact that our work has on people. Being able to archive a client’s profile because we were able to provide them with the help they needed is a great feeling, and knowing that I am able to give back and serve my community in this way is incredibly fulfilling!