Certificates and Graduation Year: Health Policy and Law and Sex, Sexuality, and Gender, 2024

Role: Activist Lab Student Engagement Intern

What do you usually eat for breakfast?

If I really want to treat myself, my go-to breakfast food is an asiago cheese bagel with plain schmear and a large oat milk latte! 

Where are you from? 

I am originally from Saint Paul, Minnesota, but my other home is Madison, Wisconsin, where I did my undergrad. 

What do you do for fun? 

When I have free time, I love exploring Boston with my roommates, cheering on my favorite sports teams, and following the latest political news. 

What brought you to BUSPH and how would you describe your experience so far?

I chose BUSPH because of the fantastic community of people that the school attracts. I attended an admitted student’s day before accepting my admission offer and was blown away by the incredible students, staff, and faculty I met while visiting.

When choosing a school, I was particularly excited by the Health Policy and Law Department, which was unique to the programs I had applied to. As a Political Science major undergrad, I wanted to continue focusing on policy and law during my MPH and less on hospital management and the business side of public health. As a result, BUSPH was on my radar as a program that would allow me to continue focusing on my interests while including more of a health-related focus on my current work. 

What really confirmed that BUSPH was the school for me was when I heard about the Core HPL course on admitted students’ day. Professor George Annas presented a mock lecture about the health policy landscape in the United States, focusing specifically on the types of case studies and information we would investigate if we chose BUSPH. Professor Annas reminded me of my professors in my political science courses, which helped me feel like I already had a place in the program!

I love my experience and am excited to get further involved in BUSPH as I progress through my degree program. There are many excellent opportunities and resources to take advantage of here, and I am continuously grateful to be a student here!

Why did you apply to be the Activist Lab Student Engagement Intern? What are you looking forward to most from this experience? 

I applied for the Student Engagement Internship with the Activist Lab because I am passionate about translating the work that we do in the classroom at BUSPH into tangible upstream action for positive change. In pursuing a graduate degree, I have made it my goal to become as engaged with the campus community as possible, as there are hundreds of passionate and interesting people here working towards the same goal of improving the lives of future generations through public health interventions. 

I am most looking forward to becoming further involved in the BUSPH community by using this role as an opportunity to engage with students and connect them to the many resources available to them in the Activist Lab. 

If you could choose any area of advocacy for BUSPH to engage in, what would it be and what would that engagement look like? 

BUSPH is already involved in many projects that are changing the face of public health for the better. However, as with all public health issues, more work can be done toward achieving health equity and access. While pursuing my MPH, I hope that BUSPH can continue to build upon the support and work it is already engaging in within the surrounding campus communities. 

A university is only as good as its work at spreading its influence beyond the classroom to better the world. The South End neighborhood has many opportunities for volunteer work, community engagement, and involvement that the university already supports. If the institution can continue investing time and energy into focusing on the upstream factors impacting this area, we can make significant strides towards achieving health equity in the community closest to our campus home. I hope that while working in the Activist Lab, we can continue to partner with non-profit and local governmental agencies to maintain and improve the existing public health interventions happening around our school!

What do you want students to know about the Activist Lab and your role? Why should they work with you? 

My role at the Activist Lab is to serve as a connection between the Activist Lab and the students of BUSPH. I am here to listen, engage, and support students in achieving their goals as budding public health activists. I want to do all that I can to connect the campus community with the opportunities that the Activist Lab offers. If you see me on campus, please be sure to say hello and also contact me if you want to chat about the Activist Lab’s work and how you can be more involved!