ABOUT THE HUBHA & GSS PARTNERSHIP

Undergraduate students are faced with a variety of academic options when entering their first year of college. More specifically, some Harvard College students declare their concentrations with the intentions of committing to their pre-med or pre-law aspirations while others become enamored with the hype and intensity of recruiting season for consulting and finance careers. 

Both the social culture of the College and its structural supports emphasize pre-professional careers – law and medicine – and opportunities in consulting and finance. As a result, students who are not planning to attend medical school often do not feel supported by the OCS in navigating public health careers. The lack of support and mentorship is exacerbated for BIPOC, especially Black students. The partnership between the Harvard Undergraduate Black Health Advocates (HUBHA) and the Greener Scott Scholars intends to supplement this gap by pairing Black graduate students in health-oriented studies and work experiences with undergraduate students who are seeking more information and advice about their future public health careers.

Greener Scott Scholars (GSS) is a social and academic mentorship program that pairs Black Harvard undergraduates with Black Harvard graduate students across Harvard's graduate schools, representing a variety of academic interests and careers. The mentorship facilitates undergraduates' the ability to clearly envision their academic and internship pathways that lead to an array of careers. GSS aims to be soulful mentorship for Black Harvard students across all schools, so mentorship is not strictly nor solely based on professional interests. With 3-4 club wide meetings a semester, GSS is focused on building community with a low, baseline time commitment— allowing mentor and mentee pairs opportunities to further grow their relationship.

With this collaboration, HUBHA members have the opportunity to engage in mentorship from Black Harvard graduate students with specific work experiences and/or career interests in the public health field. It is important to note that graduate student mentors are not only affiliated with the Harvard Chan School of Public Health but also Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard Law School, Harvard Business School, the School of Education, and more. HUBHA recognizes that health intersects with every industry– technology, education, business, and law– and we aim to pair students appropriately based on these niche interests. 

Through the mentorship program, HUBHA and GSS hope to erase the notion that the most successful careers are the ones with the most institutional support or monetary gratification (eg. consulting / finance).