why i chose public health essay

Why I Chose Public Health

By Katie Freeland, MPH Global Health student

As an individual who has been raised in a privileged setting of private schools my entire life, I’ve had the opportunity to live in comfort. My parents have been able to provide for me, and I’ve never really had a lot of hardships. I realize that I am very blessed in this sense. I also realize that most of the world’s population is not as lucky as I am.

Before you get annoyed, I’m honestly not stating these things to brag or to sound callous. I’m stating them because I realize that I can use these opportunities to hopefully bring education, resources, and peace to individuals and groups of people–the marginalized–who have not been afforded the advantages that I have.

As a sophomore in high school, I had already figured out that I wanted to study communications and photography in college, and that’s exactly what I did. While studying at Southern Adventist University, I never changed my major (an amazing accomplishment in itself), and I was even able to gain a larger global perspective (and truly discover my love for traveling) when I spent nine months studying abroad in Florence, Italy my junior year.

In October 2012, less than a year after graduating with my B.S. in mass communication, I went on a life-changing mission trip to Haiti with Southern. I went as a photographer but I ended up doing so much more than taking pictures. I was able to help organize community clinics, helped gather and distribute supplies, and saw a total of nearly 200 children at the clinics. It was then I realized that, while I enjoyed working as a copywriter at an advertising agency (my first job out of college), I wanted to be able to focus my communication skills in the field of public health, specifically with nonprofits that help victims of human trafficking.

Coming from a communications background, I believe this has set me up to have a broad spectrum of interests. The global health track will give me an eclectic opportunity to delve into many topics of interest to me. In the last year of my undergraduate career and the year following, I became very interested in women’s health, access to health care, and human trafficking, along with many other human rights interests.

Another unique experience I was able to have in my undergraduate career was working for the Advancement and Development department at Southern for nearly three years. There I was able to witness fundraising and grant-writing from a first-person perspective. While I didn’t get to write grants as part of my job, I find that advancing my education in a public health school setting will give me this opportunity that I didn’t get a chance to have.

In the 2010-2011 school year, I was able to work for Asian Aid, USA, an NGO that helps women and children in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal with health education, human trafficking protection and relief, and builds schools for those in need. While I worked from the marketing and communications side of things, I realized that I wanted to be able to get involved more with the development and planning process. This was a great introductory time in my life to show me that I wanted to get involved with public and global health.

My goal with receiving an MPH is to work for an NGO, preferably one involved with human trafficking education, advocacy, and aid in all levels of the development process from beginning to end, and I am excited to begin my first year of my program at Loma Linda University School of Public Health.

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WHY DO I WANT TO STUDY PUBLIC HEALTH AND HOW DOES IT FIT INTO MY CAREER?

bodeolagunju1 1 / 1   May 3, 2008   #1 Sir, kindly help edit this .it should be around 500 words.Thanks. One needs to consider the health of the population in terms of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, sickle cell disease, asthma and other disease entities that are seen to be commonplace. We in this part of the world have not come to be able to sufficiently deal with or manage these entities effectively with minimal affectation of the health status of the people as a population. The ways to go about managing the above diseases and problems generally are the main concern of public health practitioners. I submit that the knowledge gathered from the training in public health in an institution like yours will broaden my views and knowledge further and give me an edge in taking decisions that will be beneficial to all concerned. I am prepared to work well and gain further knowledge in order to be useful to my society and country in this aspect. I have been out of school for a number of years practising in government, private and mission hospital establishments. In all these places, I have discharged my duties with all diligence. I have experiences in other areas of medical practice too, such as diagnostic medicine and ultrasonography. I had a good training in school and I will always be able to fit in into any academic establishment or training. Rewrite this sentence to something such as, "As a result of my excellent training in school, I am able to fit into any academic institution or training program successfully.) I am a person interested in working long hours buried in works and books. I am an affable, diligent, lovely person and have no dull moments. Learning is easy for me as I am very inquisitive and practical in my approach to things. I have had experiences as a medical practitioner in a tropical environment all the while I have been out of school. I believe these experiences could be passed on to course-mates who live in developed environments. I have been involved in the treatment of public health diseases like onchocerciasis, helminthiasis, dracunculus medinensis and a variety of protein energy malnutrition like kwashiorkor,marasmus, malaria typhoid enteritis and the like. I know my experiences would be useful to my classmates and even the teachers because I have the experiences first-hand having lived till now a in tropical environment. My experiences in the various hospitals that I have been to will come in handy for me as I have experiences in surgeries like appendicectomies, herniorrhaphies, ceasarian sections and the treatment of medical illnesses like tetanus, hypertension and diabetes and I can compare what is done in my environment with what my classmates do in their own environment which may obviously be more advanced than in mine environment I believe I would be useful to the MSc public health class. I am married though I don't have children yet. Thanks and God bless. come in handy for me as I have experiences in surgeries like appendicectomies, herniorrhaphies, ceasarian sections and the treatment of medical illnesses like tetanus, hypertension and diabetes and I can compare what is done in my environment with what my classmates do in their own environment which may obviously be more advanced than in mine environment I believe I would be useful to the MSc public health class. I am married though I don't have children yet. Thanks and God bless.

EF_Team5 - / 1,586   May 4, 2008   #2 Good morning! It looks as if this essay is an entrance essay to a particular school. If this is so, don't waste your word count explaining to them something that they already know. Instead, spend it talking about you; your dreams, your goals, what you are going to do with the education they give you. Out of your 241 words, you only spend 61 of them talking about you. The prompt they want you to answer is specifically why do you want to study public health and how it fits into your career. Sometimes it is difficult for us to talk about ourselves, but here it is absolutely necessary; they want to know what kind of a student you are, what you are currently doing, how you got to this position, how hard you will work if you get in, and what your plans for the future are. Spend your valuable words talking about you, rather than giving an ineffective history lesson to those who do not need it. Good luck! Regards, Gloria Moderator, EssayForum.com

EF_Team5 - / 1,586   May 5, 2008   #3 This is much better; now the person reading your essay knows a bit more about you and your background. This is important to someone who is deciding who will or will not get into a university; the regents do not want to take individuals who are not serious about their education or who are not going to use it to change the world when they are done. I would still suggest cutting out the beginning introduction describing what the field is; the judges already know this. I would again spend more time giving more examples and descriptions of yourself and your experiences. You say that you have experience both government, private, and mission hospitals. Perhaps detail what you have done at these places; this will ensure that they know you have relevant experience that could contribute to the education of your peers. Perhaps explain what it is exactly you wish to gain by attending this particular school; do you have one specialized area you are interested in? If so, detail it in this essay. This is your one and only change to make yourself stand out as the most qualified student for admission; use it to its full extent. Regards, Gloria Moderator, EssayForum.com

EF_Team5 - / 1,586   May 6, 2008   #4 Good evening! Make sure you are removing my comments or correcting them with each draft. "...school for over (Remove) a number..." "... practising (Spelling-"practicing") in both (Remove since you are listing three items, not two.) government..." "I know my experiences would be useful to my classmates and even the teachers." How? "My experiences in the various hospitals that I have been to will come in handy for me. Surgeries like appendicectomies, herniorrhaphies, ceasarian sections and the treatment of medical illnesses like tetanus, hypertension and diabetes." Why will this come in handy for you? Regards, Gloria Moderator, EssayForum.com

EF_Team5 - / 1,586   May 7, 2008   #5 Good morning! "As a result of my excellent training in school, I am able to fit into any academic institution or training program successfully.) Make sure you are either removing or correcting my changes. Remove the quotation mark and ellipse here. "helminthiasis, dracunculus medinensis , and a variety of protein energy malnutrition like kwashiorkor, space marasmus, malaria typhoid enteritis , and the like." "...lived till now..." (Change this "till" to "until".) "...in mine environment..." Change "mine" to "my" and add a period afterwwards. Regards, Gloria Moderator, EssayForum.com

OP bodeolagunju1 1 / 1   May 8, 2008   #6 Thanks, I have sent the essay to the school. God bless you real good.

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Career Choice — Why I Chose Public Health: A Path to Fulfillment and Impact

Why I Chose Public Health: a Path to Fulfillment and Impact

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A desire to address health disparities, promoting preventive health measures, furthering education and research, contributing to policy and advocacy, fulfillment and reward in public health, conclusion: a journey of purpose.

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Why Study Public Health?

Why Is Public Health Important?

The field of public health plays a critical role in the promotion of health, prevention of disease, and empowerment of individuals to manage illness and disabilities. Every scientific finding, awareness campaign, and new policy has the potential to positively impact the lives of millions of people around the world . A unique blend of research, inquiry, and action, public health brings together people from across disciplines, backgrounds, and perspectives to discover the root causes of health problems and develop long-lasting, innovative solutions that improve everyone’s quality of life.

While the field of medicine traditionally aims to treat diseases and injuries, public health aims to proactively prevent them and keep populations healthy. In doing so, public health practitioners discover and share health interventions that ensure health and equity now and far into the future.    

What Will You Learn in a Public Health Degree Program?

In a public health degree program, you’ll learn how the conditions in the places where people live, learn, work, grow, and play affect their health outcomes. You’ll learn how public health professionals collaborate to uncover these conditions and build interventions that address them. Depending on your interests and passions, your coursework in Michigan Public Health’s six departments can explore the science behind the spread and control of disease, environmental impacts on human health, how policy and data can transform the health of populations, and the ways diet and nutrition shape our lives and our health. 

What Can You Do with a Public Health Degree?

A public health degree gives you the professional foundation and transferable skills you need to understand and work on a wide range of issues in a variety of industries and fields, including issues you see in the news every day, from COVID-19 to health care policy, firearm safety, and racism. Those with public health degrees keep communities healthy, protect workers, prevent and address pandemics, pursue social justice, drive public policy, spearhead disaster relief, ensure access to healthcare, and so much more. Public health professionals are at the forefront of research, practice, and service in nonprofits, community organizations, higher education, government, private industry, and health care. Discover jobs and careers in public health by learning more about our alumni .

Why Michigan Public Health?

As the #5 ranked school of public health in the US, we educate and train tomorrow’s public health leaders. Michigan Public Health students prepare to pursue positive, transformative change through engaging learning opportunities with top faculty, access to innovative laboratory and field settings, and community-based and entrepreneurial training. Our graduates join a community of 18,000 alumni and enter the world prepared to meet the challenges of a shifting landscape and anticipate where new challenges might arise.

What our students say about why they chose public health 

Passionate about providing 'accessible and easy to understand' health information

Catherine Garber

Personal experiences lead student to pursuing a Biostatistics master's degree

Lauren MacConnachie

Encompassing equity and elements of public health

Jourdan Clements

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