"Expanded knowledge leads to increased moral responsibility and decreased certainty."
Why are you studying Public Health?
When I first learned of public health, I was a junior in high school at a medical camp at UC Berkeley. The leader of my small group was in an Master's of Public Health program. Just that brief introduction to public health was enough to hook me. I was drawn to its proactive nature and its focus on population-level interventions.
I immediately joined the Public Health Major as a freshman at the University of Washington. I learned about all sorts of factors that influence population health (like the social determinants of health) and how to prevent disease from happening by addressing those "upstream" factors.
I immediately joined the Public Health Major as a freshman at the University of Washington. I learned about all sorts of factors that influence population health (like the social determinants of health) and how to prevent disease from happening by addressing those "upstream" factors.
But what are you actually going to do with Public Health?
While I was learning about public health, I was also taking Honors courses that trained me as a critical thinker. After taking courses that analyzed the political and moral context of education and schooling, discussed issues about poverty and privilege, and critically examined our role in the world, I began to question everything. This mindset transferred directly to my public health courses - I wanted better questions, better evidence, and better research to address public health issues.
During my sophomore year, I took courses in both biostatistics and epidemiology. These courses, coupled with an experiential learning activity of public health research, completely changed my trajectory in the field of public health. What epidemiology and biostatistics showed me is that I can use my quantitative and analytical mind as a researcher to make a difference through the lens of public health: designing research studies and developing statistical and epidemiological methods to answer difficult public health questions systematically and scientifically.
During my sophomore year, I took courses in both biostatistics and epidemiology. These courses, coupled with an experiential learning activity of public health research, completely changed my trajectory in the field of public health. What epidemiology and biostatistics showed me is that I can use my quantitative and analytical mind as a researcher to make a difference through the lens of public health: designing research studies and developing statistical and epidemiological methods to answer difficult public health questions systematically and scientifically.