June 25, 2022

May graduate to advance health equity for underserved communities by addressing social determinants of health

Cedrick Belton grew up in West Columbia, South Carolina, and noticed that he and others in his community did not have the same resources as some of his peers. Now, the May 2022 public health graduate is working to bridge the gap.

“I want to understand the history of how these underserved communities came to be underserved, so this can be applied and avoided by future communities,” he said.

During this time at South Carolina, Belton worked at BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina – first as a Medicare Advantage intern and then as a client services representative. He also worked a mentor, Jason M. Sloan, to research population health in rural communities to identify neglected counties.

Belton plans to pursue a graduate degree in epidemiology and would like to conduct research that supports community reform.

Read the full story, written by Erin Bluvas, on the Arnold School of Public Health website.