Matthew Elmore Merritt is a junior (‘24.5) African American Studies major from Bridgeport, Alabama, pursuing a certificate in Global Health Studies. He strives to advance children’s health equity through clinical practice, research, and community partnerships, especially within rural communities like his hometown. Matthew currently serves as Co-Director of the Men’s Youth Group for Migration Alliance at Yale, in partnership with the nonprofit agency Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services. He is also a congregational leader at Episcopal Church at Yale, a tutor for Yale Education Tutoring Initiative, a FOOT leader, and a patient care technician at his local hospital. Matthew has extensive research experience, having worked as an inaugural research assistant in Yale’s Leonard Learning Lab and as a microbiology research intern in University College Dublin’s Melzer Lab. He most enjoys traveling and venturing outdoors, and he recently summited the tallest mountain in the United Kingdom during his semester abroad at the University of Edinburgh.