CHHS Pre-Health Team Supports DC Virgo Students

Through intentional collaboration with faculty, staff and students in UNCW’s College of Health and Human Services (CHHS), efforts were mobilized to respond to identified needs at D.C. Virgo. In January, CHHS iHEAL supplied D.C. Virgo with a collection of sports equipment, including a portable basketball hoop, soccer goals, soccer balls, kickballs, basketballs, bases and more, totaling more than $1,400, to support student recreation and wellness. The goal is to extend the iHEAL summer program to include after-school activities for Virgo students supported by CHHS undergraduate and graduate students.

The collaboration with CHHS and Pre-Health Programs began when Sheri Leavens, assistant dean for student success and academic advising in CHHS, was appointed to the Virgo Chancellor’s Advisory Board in 2025 by Watson College Dean Tracy Linderholm. As she learned more about needs at the school, she began exploring ways CHHS could open opportunities for engagement and healthy, interactive activities.

Over the past months, in addition to sports equipment, the CHHS Student Success Center organized a donation drive that raised $900 for interactive games, including indoor games, puzzles and card games donated or purchased by CHHS students, faculty and staff.

Beyond resource support, Pre-Health Programs is creating sustained educational opportunities. The program has reserved spots in the 2026 iHEAL summer camp for all D.C. Virgo eighth-grade students and is planning outreach workshops for seventh- and eighth-grade students in the upcoming fall.

First piloted in 2022, iHEAL is a four-day, three-night residential health care exposure summer camp for rising ninth-grade students from New Hanover, Bladen, Brunswick, Columbus, Duplin and Pender counties. Hosted on the UNCW campus, iHEAL is organized by CHHS and Pre-Health Programs.

The program is co-sponsored by UNC Health, Novant Health and the UNC School of Medicine, reflecting a strong regional commitment to building the future health care workforce.

Through interactive simulations, hands-on learning and workshops led by health care professionals and faculty, iHEAL introduces students to a wide range of health care careers and academic pathways.

Participants also explore how social factors and community systems influence health outcomes.

The program is designed to build awareness, expand access and develop a strong pipeline of future health care professionals in southeastern North Carolina. iHEAL is offered at no cost to students, thanks to the support of its sponsors.

Virgo Executive Director Rachel Greer said the partnership is already making a meaningful difference.

“Our gratitude abounds,” Greer said. “These opportunities deepen the experiences we can provide for students. They support student wellness now and help empower young people to improve community health in the future.”

This partnership reflects CHHS’s broader commitment to community engagement, student success and workforce development. Through collective effort and collaboration, CHHS continues to connect resources, relationships and opportunities in ways that create lasting impact.

Faculty, staff and community members interested in supporting D.C. Virgo are encouraged to get involved through time, talent, resources or advocacy.

“Supporting Virgo doesn’t require perfection; it requires presence,” Leavens said. “Whether through time, talent, resources or advocacy, there is space for everyone to contribute.”

Click to learn more about D.C. Virgo or the Pre-Health Programs and the CHHS iHEAL program.