Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Blog

Helping my kids fuel for performance and train for life means teaching them that the right combination of healthy food and regular physical activity can help them perform their best and live longer, healthier lives.

May 24, 2013

First person: Fuel for performance and train for life

Helping my kids fuel for performance and train for life means teaching them that the right combination of healthy food and regular physical activity can help them perform their best and live longer, healthier lives.

What keeps me awake at night is excitement—the knowledge that I’m part of a dream that’s bigger than my own: To design new South African education models and build a vibrant network of high-impact schools that serve the nations’ most vulnerable as a matter of course.

May 22, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

First person: Waahida Tolbert-Mbatha’s dream - Impact schools to reshape South African education

What keeps me awake at night is excitement—the knowledge that I’m part of a dream that’s bigger than my own: To design new South African education models and build a vibrant network of high-impact schools that serve the nations’ most vulnerable as a matter of course.

I live in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago called Little Village. A few years ago, I felt like every time I looked around, I saw more and more obese kids.

May 16, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

First person: One family’s “no fry zone”

I live in a Latino neighborhood in Chicago called Little Village. A few years ago, I felt like every time I looked around, I saw more and more obese kids.

The serial events that lead so many low-income college students to drop out of college sometimes remind me of a recent DirecTV ad. The commercial is intended to be funny, but it parallels the compounding struggles faced by low-income college students in a painful way.

May 13, 2013

by: Oscar Sweeten-Lopez

1000 paper cuts: A range of struggles mask as academic weakness among low-income college students

The serial events that lead so many low-income college students to drop out of college sometimes remind me of a recent DirecTV ad. The commercial is intended to be funny, but it parallels the compounding struggles faced by low-income college students in a painful way.

How do Indian families living in urban poverty approach health care? To answer this question and better understand how to structure emergency health loans for India’s urban poor, the foundation recently commissioned a study of families in five Mumbai slums.

May 09, 2013

by: Rahil Rangwala

Health emergencies: Research points to practical financial solutions for India's urban poor

How do Indian families living in urban poverty approach health care? To answer this question and better understand how to structure emergency health loans for India’s urban poor, the foundation recently commissioned a study of families in five Mumbai slums.

Healthy people and healthy neighborhoods don’t happen accidentally. It’s time for community developers to align more strategically and more intentionally with the public health community.

May 07, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

Amanda Timm: Cristina’s walk- Built environments and childhood health

Healthy people and healthy neighborhoods don’t happen accidentally. It’s time for community developers to align more strategically and more intentionally with the public health community.

Obesity is something we can address. If we, as a country, engineered our way into this obesity mess, we must also be able to engineer our way out of it.

May 03, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

John Hoffman: Where is the weight of the nation today?

Obesity is something we can address. If we, as a country, engineered our way into this obesity mess, we must also be able to engineer our way out of it.

I’m a special education teacher in the Boston School District. I use walking as a tool for myself, for my family, and for my students.

May 02, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

First person: A Boston dad walks his way to health (and inspires his community to join him)

I’m a special education teacher in the Boston School District. I use walking as a tool for myself, for my family, and for my students.

All along I wanted to make my family proud. But it can be hard when you’re surrounded with all the pressure of succeeding and constantly being told, "You can be who you want to be." After a year, I found myself struggling.

Apr 29, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

Victor Rocha: Struggles and triumphs of a first generation college student

All along I wanted to make my family proud. But it can be hard when you’re surrounded with all the pressure of succeeding and constantly being told, "You can be who you want to be." After a year, I found myself struggling.

Dell Scholars, on average, have an ACT score of 19 and an SAT of 1400. (The maximum scores for these tests are 36 and 2400, respectively.) Judging from those test scores alone, you might not have much hope that these students could be successful in college.

Apr 26, 2013

by: Guest Blogger

Lori Fey: More than a score- What Dell Scholars tell us about standardized tests

Dell Scholars, on average, have an ACT score of 19 and an SAT of 1400. (The maximum scores for these tests are 36 and 2400, respectively.) Judging from those test scores alone, you might not have much hope that these students could be successful in college.