Jason Luo: Community and Civic Engagement Pathway

Addiction Awareness Association: Reshaping the Conversation Around Substance Use Disorders

Immersion Vanderbilt Faculty Adviser: Jaime Bruce, Department of Medicine, Health, & Society

Pathway: Community Engagement

Motivated by personal experiences and a desire to foster open dialogue, Jason Luo (Medicine, Health, and Society, '25) founded the Addiction Awareness Association (AAA), a national organization dedicated to reframing the conversation around addiction through education and community outreach.

With guidance from Professor Jaime Bruce, Jason expanded AAA’s reach to connect students, healthcare professionals, and community leaders across seven states and ten institutions. The culmination of his project includes three quarterly newsletters showcasing AAA’s initiatives among organizations working toward addiction awareness, prevention, and recovery.

Jason is currently spending his gap year working as a research coordinator and applying to medical school, where he hopes to build on this work by fostering compassion and trust between patients and healthcare providers.

Read more about AAA and why Jason chose to use it for his Immersion Vanderbilt in the Q&A below!

View Jason's Culminating Project!

Jason Luo Q&A: From Community Engagement to Immersion Vanderbilt

What inspired you to found Addiction Awareness Association?

After witnessing a close friend struggle with addiction, I was struck not only by the severity of the issue, but by the silence and stigma that surrounded it. I realized how deeply trust and community matter in recovery, and how much was missing from our current systems of care. I founded AAA to create space for open dialogue, to connect students passionate about making a change, and to bridge campuses and communities in offering support to those who felt unseen or disconnected.
What inspired you to turn your work with Addiction Awareness Association into a culminating project that ultimately satisfied your Immersion Vanderbilt? 

Immersion Vanderbilt is about bridging the knowledge and academic excellence developed in the classroom with real world impact. Through my major in Medicine, Health, and Society, along with my minor in Neuroscience, I was already exploring the intersection of science with lived experience, culture, and systems. AAA was simply a natural extension of this exploration applied to an issue close to my heart.
What is the medium of your culminating project, and why did you choose to use it for your culminating project submission

I submitted a collection of our quarterly newsletters because they help capture the dynamic range of our work. Since we have chapters in institutions across multiple states, our work reflects the specific needs in each community we serve. Each newsletter was a team effort, and our organization is no exception.
Who was your faculty adviser, and how did they support your project? How did you select them to be your adviser? 

My faculty advisor was Dr. Jaime Bruce who was also my major advisor. Dr. Bruce helped direct me to resources and opportunities both within the MHS department and the university, allowing me to connect with more like-minded people and expand the organization’s impact.
How has this culminating project shaped your post-graduation goals or perspective? Where are you now? 

This project shaped my belief that trust is the foundation of all of healthcare. I am currently applying to medical school with the hopes of pursuing a career that can build on this lesson. I am also spending my gap year as a research coordinator for Dr. Christopher Ogilvy at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
What advice would you give students thinking about using their community and civic engagement work to create a culminating project for Immersion Vanderbilt? 

Do it! There is never a wrong way to give back to the community. Even if you don’t have a fully formed idea, take that desire to make a difference and go meet as many people as you possibly can. Find ways to get inspired and Immersion Vanderbilt can help turn that inspiration into a reality.