End of Semester Highlights, Fall 2010
This fall, we initiated a number of new undergraduate public health science events. As a major that continues to show rapid growth, it's rewarding to see how excited and engaged YOU--the students-- are by the opportunities that the program affords.
The Big Advising Events
The feedback for our first ever Big Advising Events was overwhelmingly positive! Remarks included: “It was really helpful to get together with people in the major,” “Helpful information given by students!,” and “Definitely helped me understand the collateral field.” All together, almost half of students in the major took advantage of these sessions—a great turn-out for the first time out of the gate. The Big Advising Events will be hosted each semester prior to registration to help students prepare, but also to support the community of awesome public health sciences majors. Along with course information and general guidelines around meeting academic requirements, we covered Career Services, internships, study abroad, and public health club activities. Since the major is so interdisciplinary, it’s great to have regular events like this where you can socialize and gain valuable information from each other and the program director.
To add to that success, the addition of excellent peer advisors is already making a big difference in students feeling confident and more secure with course selections and academic direction. The inclusion of a drop-in advising center, staffed with peer advisors is on the horizon. An e-mail about the peer advising internship, what it entails and how to apply, will be coming late spring.
Study Public Health Abroad Night
The highlight of this event was three student presentations of their study abroad experiences. Abbie Doucette (’11) spoke movingly about her time in Ghana, where she was able to fulfill a lifelong dream of travel and immersion in an African culture. She was a Gilman Scholarship winner and assured students that money needn’t be an obstacle to exploring public health opportunities outside the UMass setting. Senior Melissa Black’s trip with the International Honors Program’s new Global Health trip gave her time in four countries: Switzerland, India, China and South Africa, allowing her to engage with similar health topics in very different contexts. Finally, Melanie 
Hosker (’11) talked about her travel to Kenya where she spent five weeks working on an independent capstone study of maternal and child health.
Seeing each traveler’s unique perspective, program, and approach was useful for students to see how study abroad could be focused very individually. At the same time, all the presenters shared similar stories of acclimating to a new environment, experiencing the ups and downs of being the “other” in a culture, and the extraordinary learning that is possible when we seek new perspectives, especially where health is concerned.
Laurel Foster-Moore, the director of the International Programs Abroad office brought information and brochures from many public health-specific programs, answered questions, and gave students an idea of how to start thinking about study abroad and what steps to take to get started.
Everyone left inspired and ready to apply for or renew their passport! This event will be held annually in plenty of time for those interested in study abroad for spring semester.
Upcoming for Spring…
While the Public Health Sciences Program does not require internships, as students know—they are HIGHLY recommended. During National Public Health Week (April 4-11), the Public Health Sciences program will host a special presentation highlighting students’ public health internship experiences. Teaming with Career Services, this will be a showcase of students’ posters on where and what they’ve done in the last year. Students taking part in on-campus, local, and regional opportunities will be on hand to talk to students about what they’ve learned and how their internship has impacted their thinking and experience of public health. To whet your appetite, here’s a powerful statement by Liz Metrano who’s summer internship with the Department of Homeland Securities led her to an internship with alumni Soloe Dennis, M.S. (’07):
I used some resources and sought out an internship for the Department of Homeland Security. I made the commute to Boston for the summer to get my foot in the door of a prospective career. Not only did it help me narrow down my interests in the field of public health, but it also allowed me to connect with the department and prove what I am capable of accomplishing on my own. It gave me a chance to reflect on where I want my journey through college to take me.
After pursuing that internship over the summer, I felt a little lost without hands-on work outside of the classroom. That feeling led me to apply for an internship working under the Emergency Preparedness Director of Hampden County, Soloe Dennis. For me, hands-on work is the only way to find out what I’m truly interested in. It also helps me connect the hours of classroom learning with the actual experiences of public health
If there was only one thing I could tell a student asking for advice it would be to find an internship and run with it. You never know where it will take you, but it is only going to be somewhere good. The experience you get is incredible as well as the connections and networking opportunities. It shows that you are someone who is trying to make the most out of your education and establish yourself. It has made me a much more motivated and mature person when it comes to my education and my future.
