2009 POINT SCHOLARS

Andrea Knittel

University of Michigan Medical School and School of Public Health

MD/PhD - Health Behavior and Health Education

Andrea grew up in Ferndale, Michigan, a small but racially and socioeconomically diverse suburb just outside of Detroit. Born into a nurturing family who has supported her throughout her life, she was relatively unaware of the deep structural inequities that existed even within her own community.
After coming out as a college student at the University of Michigan, Andrea immersed herself in activism within the LGBT community. She devoted herself to advocating not only on issues of sexuality, but also to pushing other activists to think about how racial and class identities shaped people’s experiences of the world. Deeply motivated toward a career in social justice, Andrea continued to be involved in LGBT activism as a medical student. As a national leader in the American Medical Student Association, Andrea helped to unite LGBT and ally-identified medical students across the country to educate their peers about disparities in LGBT health and how intersecting identities affect health.
Currently, Andrea is a doctoral student in Health Behavior and Health Education at the University of Michigan, School of Public Health, on leave from the medical school until she defends her dissertation. Andrea hopes to improve not only public health, but work toward social justice.