Health in action: Enosh Ishman G’26 takes diabetes awareness to the City Gate Dream Center | Today at Elon

Encouraged by his Elon mentor Alexis Moore, assistant professor of physician assistant studies, Enosh Ishman G’26 offered an educational presentation on Nov. 11 to folks of the Alamance County community on diabetes awareness.

“Dr. Moore shared that she was working with the Dream Center and wanted to host the event, and she asked if I’d be interested in leading it,” Ishman explained. “Nutrition education and community advocacy are both things I’m deeply passionate about.”

To prepare for the presentation, Ishman read over research papers and broke down the science of diabetes prevention and nutrition to present to attendees. He gathered a team of fellow Elon PA students to assign different roles, including a student interpreter who translated the presentation for non-English speakers at the event.

“Had it been 10 of the same students from the same city and culture, I don’t think the impact would have been the same,” Ishman said. “Our diversity, with students who are African American, Hispanic, and international backgrounds, allowed us to come together and answer questions not only from an academic perspective, but a cultural perspective as well.”

The students cooked recipes developed by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), a national nonprofit organization of physicians and health professionals dedicated to preventive medicine and clinical nutrition research. The team split up into groups to cook different plant-based meals to present and discuss their nutrients and benefits.

“Elon and our professors consistently emphasize the epidemiology and pathology behind conditions like diabetes,” Ishman said. “We have the knowledge and skill set to explain what’s happening, and more importantly, how to prevent disease upstream before patients require medication or long-term management of chronic disease.”