MILLSAPS YOUNG ALUMNA OF THE YEAR IS AN ADVOCATE FOR PUBLIC HEALTH BY ANDY KANENGISER
Lamees Samir El-sadek is a proven public health servant advancing her career as a Harvard doctoral candidate. At the same time, she’s a tireless voice seeking to break down barriers across faith communities.
role with a National Institutes of Health research project. She expects to receive her doctorate at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health in 2022.
A 2011 Millsaps College graduate and Lilly Fellow, the Mississippi native stays committed to making the universe a better place. The Millsaps Outstanding Young Alumna Award recipient in 2021, El-sadek is reaching her goals despite challenges.
A Gates Millennium Scholar, and recent recipient of the Rabbi Nussbaum Civil Justice Award, El-sadek earned her master’s in public health at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, in May 2013. Her certification is in health disparities and health inequality.
The Millsaps Alumni Association annually recognizes grads showing promise in their professions, prioritizing community service achievements and strongly supporting their alma mater.
Her experience with the global health crisis became all too personal. Her parents, both immigrants from North Africa, were hospitalized several days after becoming infected with the coronavirus. Her mother, Rawia Rashad El-sadek, serves as a Crystal Springs Middle School teacher. Her father, Samir, is a chemical engineer. Her sister and brother also became ill with COVID-19. The Millsaps alumna helped her family recover, but eluded the virus as she had already received the vaccine. An alumna of the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science in Columbus, El-sadek almost became a first-year student at Duke University. But Millsaps College won her heart after she visited the Jackson campus for the first time as a Presidential Scholarship candidate. Receiving this generous scholarship and living nearby Mississippi family members led to her decision to become a Millsaps Major. Excellent professors, including James Bowley, Patrick Hopkins, Deborah Mann and Harvey Fiser, inspired her from day one. As a Muslim, El-sadek shared her religion with Millsaps classmates and students at metro Jackson high schools. The Mississippian built bridges with Jews, Christians and anybody willing to listen. A Millsaps education, she said, changed her global outlook. As a study abroad student, El-sadek traveled to Albania, South Africa, Turkey, Spain and Switzerland. “What a blessing — to have such distinct reference points to observe the world as a young student.”
The 31-year-old credits Millsaps College for development of her critical thinking and communication skills along with the institution’s remarkable sense of community. As an undergraduate, she thrived as a double major — biology combined with international health and economics. “Millsaps enabled and academically empowered me with the intellectual resources to explore how different disciplines intersect,” El-sadek said. Beginning in March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the education of students at thousands of institutions worldwide. The health emergency brought the 2011 Millsaps grad back home to central Mississippi. Spending time in metro Jackson this summer, El-sadek plays a leading
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MILLSAPS MAGAZINE FALL 2021
Growing up in Crystal Springs, El-sadek discovered her hometown didn’t offer many activities. So, the Mississippi woman broadened her understanding of religion by attending Wednesday night Bible studies at a local church. She soaked up more knowledge at an area mosque. “I went through a lot of questioning, but faith and religion never stopped being important to me.” Lamees Samir El-sadek is proud to be among the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims. “It’s a beautiful religion and gives guidance for a very equitable and peaceful way of living.” Her skill set as a public health professional is a perfect match. “Being a public health servant allows me the opportunity to be a lifelong student.”
