Why did you decide to major in PH-GH as an undergraduate?
I felt quite discontent with most of the fields that I explored as an undergrad. Public health was the first major that gave me a spark of passion and belonging. I feel really fortunate to have found a major that uses both lab work and social sciences to improve health on a population scale.

What have you been up to since graduating?
I did a summer internship at the Seattle Children’s Research Institute, worked in a peach orchard for a couple weeks, and then I was hired full-time into the lab that I was placed in for the internship! Now I am working in the Mendoza Lab assisting with the Step by Step study, which aims to improve the physical activity levels of childhood cancer survivors.

What’s your current job and how does it relate to public health? 
I work in the Mendoza lab at Seattle Children's Research Institute, which studies interventions to improve the health of kids across the country. Our studies focus on creating behavioral interventions for populations of kids that experience inequitable health outcomes.

What is something you learned from studying public health that has been useful to you since graduating?
Public health is unique from other sciences in that it teaches you how to exercise your compassion. Knowing how to love my community and do something about it has been very useful.

What is something you wish the general population knew about public health that might not be talked about?
The public health field has a dark history of violence and exploitation of marginalized communities. Most of the public health people you meet today are working hard to rectify that history within their own corner of public health.

What impact do you hope to have on the public health of your communities? 
I want the communities I work for to feel more connected, stronger and empowered to make the best decisions for themselves.

What advice do you have for public health students entering the workforce? 
Find a team that will support you in your learning and your goals! The team I work on encourages me to seek out trainings and attend events that are relevant to my career, even if they’re not directly related to the work I do in our lab.