public health

One of the first questions they asked us when I started my Master of Public Health program was "What is public health?" ​My fingers typed swiftly as I discreetly googled "Public health definition" and looked around, hoping nobody would catch me. After all, my undergraduate degree was in public health, and I couldn't give a straightforward answer. Two years later, I reflect on my experience as an MPH student in the middle of a pandemic and define what public health means to me.

At the beginning of our program, one of our assignments was to "pretend" that a meningitis outbreak was happening. We were the public health professionals in charge of handling the issue. My classmates and I would sigh as we submitted yet another assignment on what seemed like common sense tasks at the time. Make sure what you share with the public is correct and evidence-based, gain the public's trust, and make sure we don't stigmatize those who have the disease. The semester came to an end, and we thought that was the end of that. Little did we know that what we "experienced" will be coming to life and seeing how sometimes what we learned was not always what we saw unfold when it came to the pandemic. 

In the spring semester of our first year, we started taking courses for our concentration, mine being Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences. Before transitioning to Zoom, one of our professors told us about his contingency plan of continuing the course online if the virus came to the United States and everything shut down. We smiled apprehensively and secretly thought that it would not be needed. Then it became March, and we finished our first exam in one of our most challenging classes. Excited about our upcoming spring break, we all waved to each other with our sleep-deprived eyes and said, "See you later - have a great break!" And that was it - my last memory of an in-person class at the school of public health and the last time I saw some of my classmates in person. 

This past year has been challenging to say the least. Still, this pandemic exposed to millions of people globally how vital public health is. It showed the gaps and inequalities in our healthcare system. The pandemic exposed which countries valued public health and were better prepared to face the outcome and protect the health of their citizens and essential workers. This experience has taught us to value mundane things and never take them for granted again. More importantly, it has shown how genuinely resilient humans are and how willing we are to adapt and continue and cultivate our social connections. 

I had the privilege of learning with my classmates online my last year and graduate in person with an MPH this May. Ironically, our cohort became closer after the uncomfortable transition and navigating our way through Zoom and lots of GroupMe messages. It was funny since some of our classmates did not meet in person until actual graduation, yet we all were able to take class photo. It's crazy how shared experiences truly bond humans together, even if we never saw each other in person. 

If you were to ask me what public health is now - I can confidently say I am no longer googling the answer these days. For me, public health is essential. It means protecting and promoting the health of people and communities, whether it is in the workplace or at home. Public health means caring for and protecting the health of others. Public health is vaccines, seat belts, and safety standards. Public health comes in all shapes and forms - I dare you to look around. With so many lives lost and affected, I pray and hope that we all learned a valuable lesson. Public health should continue to be valued and highly prioritized to be better prepared for the future.

Sincerely and Gig 'Em, 
The girl with upside down dimples, MPH

P.S. I would like to say a special thank you to my family for their support these past two years. Thank you to my friends, classmates and professors who enriched my experience and made me proud to be an Aggie.