In addition to signature events such as Salon and the Speaker Series, CHOIR provides support to other initiatives within the Loyola ecosystem to drive learning and engagement.  Emblematic of Loyola’s status as a recipient of the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, CHOIR is a proud sponsor of the Loyola Stands Against Gun Violence Summit. Loyola Stands Against Gun Violence is a multi-departmental and multi-disciplinary committee with representation from Loyola Medicine, Loyola University Chicago and the broader Chicagoland community with the mission to lead advocacy initiatives, discuss policy and provide community events with the ultimate aim of reducing gun violence. At the 2024 Summit, the reflections of five Loyola Stands Graduate Fellows were presented.  The students selected as Fellows are provided practical research experiences to supplement their academic studies.

Idiake “Dee” Irumundomon,  recently graduated with a Master’s Degree in Public Health from the Parkinson School.  Born and raised in California, Dee now considers himself a “decently acquainted Chicagoan.” Throughout his graduate studies, Dee held several internships that focused on community interventions and impact. Hoping to pursue a career that influences health system policy, Dee believes involvement within the community and engagement with its members is essential to understanding the crucial areas for change. Dee is eager to leverage his skills and knowledge to enhance the wellbeing and empowerment of communities on a broad scale. He recently accepted an administrative fellowship for Trinity Health with Loyola Medicine that will commence in 2025.

As a Loyola Stands Graduate Fellow, what has been your biggest discovery?
As a Fellow, my biggest discovery has been understanding the amount of impact that we all have. Whether it be through advocacy of policy change, participation in marches, or simply joining a non-profit’s email list, there are so many avenues in which we can impact the communities that we live in, and the fellowship has allowed me the opportunity to discover a few of them.

What role does community engagement play in amplifying your research interest?
Community engagement plays a major role in amplifying my research interest. I like to perform research on topics that are built around community engagement and support. Consistent community engagement is how programs, initiatives, and polices progress. So when I begin my research process, the first thing I look at is how the community feels about it and their level of engagement in the issue and assess from there.

What advice would you give to future Fellows?
There is a lot of advice that I could give to future Fellows but if I had to give one thing it would be to do what you want to do with the opportunity. Take some time to figure out what about an issue really interests or perplexes you and do some research on it. Then allow that interest and curiosity to keep you going when working around a topic that you may find at times can be pretty heavy.

What are your long-term professional goals?
I enjoy working on the administrative side of operations. I also have a love for the health field and believe that access to quality healthcare is a right. So my professional longterm goal is to run a hospital or health system