She aimed to create an initiative to help younger students build the skills and confidence to converse with their healthcare providers about the best treatment options. While Nichols had her mom by her side to fight for her, she realized that not everyone is as fortunate.
“I feel incredibly lucky to have had a strong health advocate growing up, but having the health advocacy skills that are too often necessary for wellness shouldn’t be a matter of luck,” Nichols said.
Nichols wanted those within the program to be student-athletes working toward health careers. Luckily, many of her teammates, including the president of Pre-Health Terps, Emma Pegg, as well as Hannah Mack and Katie Altieri, were eager to partner with her in implementing this impactful program.
Nichols hoped that the initiative would benefit the mentors in addition to the students and that everyone could learn something that could help them in the future.
“My hope was that not only would participants gain health literacy and advocacy skills, but mentors would gain a better understanding of how to communicate health ideas with younger populations,” she said.