‘Mission to Change Lives’: MCW Student Works to Improve Health in Home Country of Jordan

Hazem Gammoh, a second-year student in the accelerated three-year Doctor of Public Health program at the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW), has a lofty dream.“I want to become the minister of health in Jordan,” Gammoh says.

It’s not about being in a position of authority, he explains, it’s about helping his community.

“My passion is to reach the community with a healthier lifestyle and more awareness about hot topics that we are facing,” he says. “I believe one person can initiate change.”

That passion drives Gammoh, who lives in Jordan, to complete his classes at MCW online while also working full-time as the senior program officer at the Royal Health Awareness Society (RHAS), an organization affiliated with the Queen Rania Foundation, a nonprofit founded by the queen of Jordan.

Sometimes that leaves him only two or three hours to sleep and much less time to prepare than other students. Gammoh, who also participates in other activities related to policy, health, and education, views all his efforts as a necessary sacrifice to achieve his dreams.

“I think I’m always looking to grow,” he says. “I still need more knowledge, more education. I still have more to learn to complete this journey.

Finding His Calling

Gammoh graduated in 2016 from the University of Jordan with a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy and moved to the United States the next year seeking his master’s degree in pharmacology and toxicology at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.

He entered the school on a probationary status, which meant he had to maintain a 3.0 grade point average. He did much better, surpassing a 4.0, while being selected to receive the Graduate Excellence Award, an annual award given for superior academic achievement. He was the first student in his department to win the honor in a decade.

During his studies and after graduating, he worked as a pharmacist at Walmart and then as a consultant scientist, providing expertise online about treating the opioid crisis. He eventually found a position with the Franklin County Public Health Department in Columbus, Ohio, focusing again on the opioid crisis.

“I was doing great at my job. I was happy. I was having a lot of good things in my life,” Gammoh says.

But then life, and perhaps fate, intervened, calling the only son back home to look after his parents and other family members in Jordan. That’s when Gammoh found a job with RHAS focusing on awareness campaigns related to personal hygiene, mental health, and drug and tobacco use. Gammoh says 79% of males in Jordan use tobacco products, a main contributor to health problems such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke. He’s working to change that.

Despite his success in Jordan, he still had a goal of earning a PhD and started researching schools in the U.S. that he could attend remotely. He found MCW and quickly set up a meeting with David Nelson, PhD, professor of family and community medicine. Unsure if MCW was a good fit, the meeting with Dr. Nelson and the support he demonstrated eased his fears.

“I’m very grateful to Dr. Nelson because he believed in me. He gave me the opportunity,” Gammoh says.

Not everything has been smooth. The time difference means his classes at MCW begin at 3 a.m. in Jordan. Still, he’s never missed a class and has even come up to campus for orientation. He also plans to come to campus to propose and defend his thesis.

Gammoh credits his family with providing the support he needs as he works toward his doctorate. “I want to make my family proud,” he says. “Without them I wouldn’t have achieved all that I have accomplished.”

He says his other motivation is wanting to help people and create change, something he believes his education at MCW and connections in Jordan will help him achieve.

“I want to change lives with my work,” he says. “I look at this opportunity as a responsibility to influence a lot of people and improve health in my country."