UCLA Fielding School of Public Health graduate student Naomi Hammonds awarded fellowship

A UCLA Fielding School of Public Health graduate student has been recognized for academic excellence and dedicated service at the school, one of the top public health graduate schools in the United States. 

Naomi Hammonds, a first-year student in the master of public health program, received the Abdelmonem A. Afifi Student Fellowship, named after Dr. Afifi, dean emeritus and professor emeritus of biostatistics at UCLA Fielding, at the school’s 2025 Student Academic Honors and Awards Ceremony. Recipients are selected for academic excellence and demonstrating a well-balanced and humanitarian understanding of the field of public health. 

The award, which includes a stipend, stems from her achievements in the MPH program, including her 4.0 GPA and service at UCLA, where she has served as a student representative on multiple projects, including student input on the selection of UCLA’s new chancellor, Dr. Julio Frenk, distinguished professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management. 

“Having that student voice at every table was so important,” said Hammonds, who earned her bachelor of science in psychobiology (UCLA, ’24) before entering the graduate program at UCLA Fielding. “After I finished my undergraduate degree, I immediately looked for ways to get involved with graduate students and helping support them.” 

Hammonds, whose hometown is Las Vegas, has served as chair of the University of California’s Graduate and Professional Council, vice president of the UCLA Graduate Student Association, vice president of the Black Graduate Student Association, and is president-elect of the UCLA Graduate Student Association, among many other posts. That dedication to service, along with her academic and research work, is what led to the Afifi fellowship, officials said. 

“Naomi has consistently demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to academic excellence and community-centered leadership,” said Dr. Angie Otiniano Verissimo, associate professor in the UCLA Fielding School’s Department of Community Health Sciences. “Naomi’s involvement as an active student leader not only shows her dedication to leadership and service, but also her sincere commitment towards uplifting marginalized voices, advancing equity, and fostering institutional accountability.”