Advancing HIV / STI Testing on Campus: Evan Hall

Evan Hall is a junior at the University of Michigan, pursuing a Bachelors of Science in Biology, Health, & Society with a minor in Chemistry. Evan’s Honors in Engaged Liberal Arts (HELA) Project focuses on HIV Prevention in Adolescents in Michigan, which has largely framed his academic and career pursuits. He is also a member of the Global Scholars Program at UM.

As an HIV activist, Evan Hall currently serves as the Youth Liaison of the Michigan HIV/AIDS Council (MHAC), a position he created back in 2020 to oversee activities, programs, and research directed toward youth populations. Evan is a certified HIV test counselor, where he volunteers at UNIFIED - HIV Health and Beyond and the Spectrum Center at the University of Michigan. In addition to this activism involvement, Evan has interned with GMHC in New York City under Analytics & Evaluation, and AIDS Institute as Policy Intern. He volunteers with the Detroit Recovery Project to assist in efforts to end the HIV epidemic through syringe services.

At the university, Evan has a coveted research position in the Student Opportunities for AIDS/HIV Research (SOAR) program. He is conducting research under the supervision of Professor Rogério Pinto, who is the Dean of Research and Innovation at the School of Social Work. In the summer of 2021, Evan was accepted as an Engelhardt Social Justice Fellow, where he engaged with community based organizations and people living with HIV (PLWH) to capture the HIV epidemic 40 years in southeastern Michigan in a forthcoming publication in the Michigan Gayly. Check out his article on the “4Hs” here. Anyone interested in also conducting AIDS/HIV research through SOAR should apply here as the application is live. The deadline for the upcoming cohort is March 31, 2022 at 11:59pm EST.

The University of Michigan’s Literature, Science and the Arts Student Government met in a hybrid format and passed on February 9, 2022 a resolution largely inspired by conversations with Evan on HIV/STI testing. The resolution was authored and endorsed by several current GSPeeps and is the first project of the newly formed LGBTQ+ task force in LSA Student Government. The taskforce, liaison position between Spectrum Center and resolution come not longer after the death of Jim Toy, an LGBTQ+ activist and the first openly gay man at the University, who passed away on January 1st. Toy was one of the founders, back in the 1970s, of what is now called the Spectrum Center.

As a person living with disabilities, Evan is also a vocal advocate for disability culture and rights in his blog Milk and Doorbells, telling his truths while collaborating with others to uplift theirs. Milk and Doorbells was created by Evan as a blog platform to explore his own disability, while learning and understanding more about disability culture.The blog is inspired by the lived experiences of those contributing to the lively moments within disability activism & culture. Although an odd pair, Milk and Doorbells as a title was drawn from one of Evan's whimsical journal entries. Milk and Doorbells collaborates with non- and able-bodied individuals on a variety of topics, ranging from spoon theory to sports.

One of my favorite pieces from his blog, Milk and Doorbells, centers on the concept of spoon theory. In Evan’s words, “Spoon Theory by Christine Miserandino puts into words the experiences many people living with a disability go through day to day.” Spoon Theory describes a quantitative system of people associating a particular number of spoons with the amount of energy and tasks they can accomplish within a day. It was an excellent contextualization of the daily experiences of people living with a disability and a good opportunity for some further reading.

Evan continues to be an avid bassoonist, playing in the Life Science Orchestra on campus and with his double reed companions. He enjoys traveling the United States, checking off a number of National parks over the years. His career prospects place him in a position of research implementation of HIV/STI prevention and treatment programs on domestic and global scale.

Evan can be contacted at evanh.business@gmail.com for further information and to book a PrEP presentation. This presentation details forms of empowerment to increase the uptake and access of PrEP based on public health and social work research. With the intertwined history of HIV treatment and PrEP, he also overviews how capturing this history can establish better connections with younger communities