On October 30, we proudly celebrated our 8th Community Health Worker (CHW) cohort graduation. This one felt different. This group reached a milestone we’ve never seen before – a 100% completion rate. Sixteen incredible students, each carrying their own story of growth, courage, and purpose, walked across that stage together.

This was also our largest cohort yet, surpassing our typical class size of 10 to 13 students. This number isn’t just a milestone. It reflects what happens when people are given space to grow on their own terms – they rise to meet it. Three graduates secured employment during the training, with many more already interviewing and on their way.

On graduation day, the Biogen CoLab was buzzing with laughter, excited chatter, and anticipation as gold, black, and burgundy banners and balloons filled the room. Family and friends showed up in full force to celebrate their graduates, and the energy was contagious. One by one, students stepped up to present on real-world health issues: cholesterol management, mental health among Asian American women, period poverty, and more.

For the sixteen people graduating that day, this was more than a ceremony. It marked months of learning, stepping into leadership, overcoming challenges, and embracing the call to give back to their communities.

“I initially thought I was just going to gain knowledge about resources and systems, but I discovered this was so much deeper. I found this space very transformative in my learning,” shared Miyuki Gomez in her speech.

That transformation was visible everywhere – in the way students carried themselves with newfound confidence, in the way they spoke about their communities, and especially in the giant group hug that closed the ceremony, filled with messages of hope, gratitude, and empowerment.

And then there is Xukun Guo.

Just last year, Xukun stood in that same room not as a trainer, but as a student. Now she stood at the front as our AWFH Community Health Work Trainer, guiding this cohort through the same journey that helped her reclaim her voice.

“The CHW training changed how I saw myself,” she told the graduates. “It gave me a safe and respectful space where my voice actually mattered. I learned that my community deserves to be heard and that silence doesn’t protect us. It only makes our stories invisible.”

One graduate told Xukun that the training finally gave them a chance to express thoughts they had held inside for years. That moment, she said, echoed her own journey too.

The need for Community Health Workers has never been greater. As healthcare becomes harder to reach and systems feel increasingly strained, CHWs remain the trusted bridge – the people who show up, listen, and advocate from within the community itself.

Congratulations to our newest CHWs. Your communities are waiting for you, and the stories, compassion, and lived experience you carry will ripple outward in powerful ways. 

This is what community health work is about – a pathway to purpose, healing, empowerment, and belonging.

Interested in our winter cohort? Apply now before spots fill up: awfh.org/CHW-Interest