Stephen Hicks is from Fredericksburg, Virginia. He received his bachelor’s degree from Virginia Commonwealth University with a major in Mass Communications and minor in Political Science and African-American Studies. While in college, Stephen participated in research that investigated health disparities of African-Americans and socioeconomic determinants of American political capital. He worked as an opinion writer for his college newspaper, The Commonwealth Times, and as a beat reporter for several small-town newspapers throughout Virginia. Stephen was also the founding vice president of the Student Hip-Hop Organization, which brought students together to perform community service through cultural and artistic expression. Stephen went on to earn his MPH at George Mason University, where he served as a research assistant assessing women’s cardiovascular health and condom-use among marginalized populations in the U.S. Before his GHC fellowship, Stephen was a testing coordinator at FAHASS, a non-profit aimed at providing client services for persons living with HIV as well as prevention tools to the public. At FAHASS, he focused on expanding HIV testing and condom distribution throughout Northwest Virginia. Stephen enjoys listening to music, record collecting, and weightlifting.