Certificate Spotlight: Health Communication and Promotion with Bella Fletcher (SPH’26).
Certificate Spotlight: Health Communication and Promotion with Bella Fletcher (SPH’26)
Recent fall graduate Bella Fletcher shares insight into SPH’s MPH certificate in health communication and promotion.
Bella Fletcher (SPH’26) found her way to public health through her undergraduate sociology studies.
“I started [in] social work, but then realized I wanted to work at the macro level,” says Fletcher, who graduated with a degree in sociology and a minor in social work from Simmons College in 2023. While at Simmons, Fletcher volunteered with the National Alliance on Mental Illness and served as a wellness ambassador to her peers. The roles empowered her to be an open-minded and non-judgmental resource for information on health and wellbeing, as well as exercise her passion for designing content. She decided then to pursue a career in digital health communications.
“I love being creative—I like making Canva posts—and when I learned BU had a health communication and promotion certificate, I knew I had to apply,” says Fletcher. She enrolled in the on-campus MPH program at the School of Public Health the fall following her graduation from Simmons.
At SPH, Fletcher found ample opportunities to apply her creativity. Her first year, an infographic she crafted about mental health won “best visual” in the school’s 2024 Health “Comm”petition. Her second year, she secured a practicum as a health communications graduate assistant at Bentley University, where she continues to work today.
“I do social media and well-being topics—flu, norovirus—and help the health center and counseling center encourage student visits. I worked with organizations on campus, including the gender and sexuality group, and created a flyer about gender-affirming care. I also assist with well-being events and tabling,” says Fletcher, who graduated from SPH in December 2025.
Although it was not always easy, Fletcher looks back fondly on her journey to earn her MPH and spoke candidly with SPH about her experience.
Q&A
With Bella Fletcher (SPH‘26)
SPH: When you applied to the MPH program, did you have a particular vision for your career path?
Fletcher: I knew I wanted to learn more about health communications, but I didn’t know about career options [in the field]. I am also interested in mental health and well-being, reproductive justice, and health promotion. I like working with different stakeholders to create programs that help communities thrive.
SPH: Do you have a favorite course that you took as part of the health communications and promotion certificate?
Fletcher: I have a few. I loved the required classes, [Mass Communication and Public Health], taught by Lynsie Ranker. She was awesome; she works with tobacco use and prevention, which I wasn’t super familiar with, and it was interesting to learn how many health communication campaigns focus on vaping. I took Jacey Greece’s class, [Designing Strategic Interventions and Communications to Advance Public Health], and that was helpful because I worked with Cambridge Public Health Department on mental health programming for middle and high school students. The class was hands on and tough, but it challenged me in a good way. I also took [Using Digital Technologies to Improve Health Outcomes] in spring 2025. It was out of my comfort zone, but I stuck with it and gained a lot of skills. We also created a chatbot in class. The chatbot helped Nigerian women with their questions about contraceptives and gave advice on how to discuss condom use with their partners. It involved scripting—defining what the AI should not say and what it should say—and lots of trial and error. It ended up working well and it was great to see a tangible product. My final class last semester was [Preventing Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence: A Public Health Perspective]. We had guest speakers who work in domestic and interpersonal violence. It was a hard topic, but the class community made it feel safer and more open. My research project for the class focused on digital abuse and the manosphere.
SPH: What activities were you involved in on campus? Do you have any recommendations for incoming or prospective students for finding community at SPH?
Fletcher: One big role I had was with Graduate Student Life—they were my second family when I worked the front desk. I liked that position because I got to meet people from different departments [whom] I otherwise might not have met. I interacted with epidemiology and health policy and law people, and those conversations broadened my view of the field.
I consider myself an extroverted introvert. Sometimes I’m timid and sit on the sidelines, observant, but once I find my people I’m very social. I had to force myself out of my comfort zone and be the person to start conversations. Applying to Graduate Student Life was a leap, [but] I saw the position and thought, why not?
I also attended some Queer Alliance events and supported friends on the e-board. I remain in touch with many people I met there. My first semester was hard, and I questioned whether I should continue. Graduate Student Life and my friends supported me and helped me persist. Creating study groups and finding time to hang out helped. Having people to talk to made grad school easier.
SPH: Graduate school can certainly be challenging—now that you are on the other side, was it all worth it?
Fletcher: Yes, definitely! I gained skills in the health comm field, but I also got more confidence in myself as well. In [Craig Andrade’s] Strategies for Public Health Advocacy class, his mastery approach to learning and emphasis on feedback helped things click. If I made a mistake or didn’t get the grade I wanted, I was able to get feedback and grow from it. I’m guided by SPH’s motto “Think. Teach. Do.” and I’d add Learn because I’m always learning and the program supported that.
