b'exercising, and stress management.Participants areandreigningMissBenedictCollegeActiveMinds, encouragedtobringasupportpersontoencourageAlexissaidshehaslearnedsomuchworkingat themtostayontrack,accordingtoSylvia.SomeBLEC.SheappreciatesthatBLECpaysherfull familymembersgothroughtheprogramtogethertuitionforthespringandfallsemestersandhas becausemultiplefamilymembersallowedpracticalexperienceforher have been diagnosed with diabetes,public health major.Joshua Mercadel sheexplained.TheyarehopefulisaPh.D.candidateatUofSC.He thatgoingthroughtheprogramwashiredasabiostatisticianwho togetherwillmotivatethemtohelpsdevelopdatacollectiontools changetheirlifestylesandmakeand analyzes data to help monitor the whattheylearnapartoftheirparticipant outcomes. Both will have dailylives.FayeLove,aprogramtheopportunitytopresentabstracts participant,sayssheheardaboutor manuscripts with their findings at theprogramfromhersister.Sheprofessionalconferences.According andseveralfamilymembershaveto Dr. Cotton the program offers the diabetes.Whilesheadmitsitsstudentsawonderfulopportunity achallengetogiveupfoodsshetocomplementwhattheyaredoing loves,Fayesaysshespleasedthatinschool.Otherteammembers theprogramhelpshertolookatBLEC Sylvia Flint includeMatthewGarcia,abilingual her diabetes differently, and that shecommunityhealthworker,andDara is no longer in denial.I am grateful that someoneBrown,seniorcommunityhealthcoordinator.Dr. thought enough of us to try and make us better, sheCotton is responsible for reports, budget management concluded.andoversight.Inadditiontowritingthereports, Sylvia Flint joked, My role is to keep the train on the A Wonderful Opportunity track and arrive at the station on time. InadditiontotheirpartnershipwithDHEC,Dr. CottonsaidsheisalsoverypleasedwiththeirBothSylviaandDr.Cottonarepassionateabout partnershipwithBenedictCollegeandUofSC.theworkthattheydo.Theybothhavepersonal AccordingtoCotton,partneringwithanHBCUknowledgeofhowdiabetescanravageafamily. wasagrantrequirement,buttheyalsowantedtoSylvialosthermothertodiabetesandDr.Cottons partnerwiththeArnoldSchoolofPublicHealthgrandmotherslegswereamputated.Thetwoare atUofSC,amajorityinstitution.Therefore,theycommitted to helping others change their trajectory hiredtwostudentstoworkontheprojectoneandlivehealthierlifestyles.BLECwillbestarting fromBenedictandonefromUofSCtosupportits second Cohort on May 1, 2022, and that class is theevaluationcomponentoftheDIP.Alexisalreadyfull.Theyarenowtakingreferralsforthe Brown,anundergraduatepublichealthstudentatthird class which will begin on May 5, 2022.Benedict, was hired as data coordinator. Alexis helps distributesurveysandtrackparticipantresponsesFor more information about BLEC visit: andparticipantphysicalactivitydata.Inaddition,https://brooklandlakeview.org/diabetes-sheislearninghowtodevelopsurveystomeasureintervention-program/. participantoutcomes.AsasophomoreatBenedict BLEC Alexis Brown BLEC Joshua Mercadel BLEC Dara Brown BLEC Matthew GarciaIMARA15'