Brina Ratangee may be attending medical school in the fall, but she has already made meaningful differences in the lives of her neighbors.

After providing free blood pressure screenings and health education workshops in Nashville, Ratangee, a 2024 Vanderbilt University graduate, was inspired to start the first-ever narrative-based medicine journal for homeless health.

“While editing these writings and crafting my own, I became captivated by the stories and shared insights gained,” says Ratangee, a 2021 Most Valuable Student scholar sponsored by Frederick, Md., Lodge No. 684. “[The journal] became a calling, not a mere to-do.”

For Ratangee, starting the journal was just the beginning. She wanted to create a space for students, clinicians, and policymakers to reflect on the stories that were being told in the journal, then use those voices to guide solutions. This inspiration led her to organize the inaugural Vanderbilt Homeless Health Conference, which featured keynote speakers and panels from organizations that provide resources and services to Nashville’s unhoused population.

“Together, we deconstructed misconceptions of homelessness and empowered attendees—many of whom were aspiring physicians—to effect change,” says Ratangee.

Change usually begins with small steps, and as the recipient of two micro grants exclusive to Elks scholars, Ratangee knows just how powerful small steps can be. In 2023, she worked with peers to cultivate a relationship with Tennessee’s Heimerdinger Foundation, an organization that grows, prepares, and delivers organic meals to community members facing cancer. Using a $500 grant from the Elks National Foundation, Ratangee built garden beds to help the Heimerdinger Foundation meet the needs of the community.

The following year, Ratangee received another small grant from the ENF, this time to address the health-related social needs of individuals experiencing homelessness across Nashville. Both projects were pivotal to Ratangee’s understanding of what it means to serve others.

“Being part of the Elks scholar community has shown me the collective power that can be born out of and poured back into communities,” says Ratangee. “I’ve strived to forge connections with my community, identify our shared needs, and work where I best fit within these networks.”

Though she will find a new community this fall, Ratangee hopes to continue making meaningful differences in the lives of those around her.

“As a physician,” says Ratangee, “I’ll be able to leverage my position to advocate for those whose names I don’t yet know but who equally deserve quality care—so all future patients feel seen, heard and cared for.” With the Weigel scholarship, Ratangee will study emergency medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.