As an incoming student from Suwanee, GA in 2007, he was awarded a CURO Apprenticeship and in his second year at UGA he also received a mid-term Foundation Fellowship. Cleveland’s dream is to work for Doctors Without Borders and to that end he participated in a Medical and Dental Service Learning Program in Costa Rica and Panama. 

The organization’s focus was on preventative medicine through education, as well as helping as many patients as possible.  The students learned about the specific living environment and health issues of the area to be better able to diagnose patients and educate them on how to improve and maintain their health.

Cleveland performed basic tasks such as taking a medical history, checking blood pressure and sugar levels, and checking ears, eyes, heart, lungs, and weight.  With dental patients, he provided basic education on dental hygiene, cleaned teeth, helped fill cavities, and pulled teeth. Cleveland and his fellow students communicated with patients in Spanish, with only limited help from an interpreter. 

After he returned to Athens, he interned with Dr. Leah Lowman, an OB/GYN doctor who is herself a graduate of the Foundation Fellowship. Under her supervision he experienced a range of aspects of Dr. Lowman's medical practice, from the business side to the clinical side. Cleveland found that he enjoyed the profession more than he expected, and it generated a strong interest in OB/GYN or neonatology.

During the summer of 2009, Cleveland traveled to Salvador, Brazil to work with Volunteer Brazil.  He worked again in a medical clinic and participated in other activities such as learning Portuguese, teaching English, and community service projects.

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