How have you applied knowledge from your public health classes?

I used my strong foundation and knowledge of the health system and how it works in the U.S. Also, from my global health class, learning about cultural competency, having respect for different cultures, and having a better understanding of different determinants of health around the world and how that affects the population of clients that I’m working with has been beneficial. For my final research paper, I was able to use some of the data about the effectiveness of the program. We talk about analyzing effectiveness of different programs and preventative health—which this internship would fall under—in public health a lot.

What is your advice for future interns?

Definitely pursue an internship, it's a really invaluable experience! Be creative and think out of the box. At first, I thought I could only find a governmental public health department position but there's so many areas of public health. You can really be creative and find different organizations than the obvious ones that you would originally think of because there's so many opportunities out there. You just must find them and being willing to take that time to do that, but it's so worth it when you do. I recommend working with the Experiential Learning Center. Even if you don't have an internship set up, talk to your Internship Advisor about the possibility of one. They're there to help.