After my last 3 years at Berkeley (how has it already been this long??! Where has all the time gone?!) pursuing a degree in Biochemistry, I've come to the realization that as much as I love, and will always love, the biological sciences (as much as it has continued to eat away at my GPA), my professional interests now lie in the realm of Public Health, especially with a focus on public health fieldwork in a developmental contexts.
I had the opportunity to talk with the Dean of the School of Public Health when he came and gave a guest lecture in one of my public health courses this semester, and had a really great conversation with him. What really interested me, however, was his view on public health:
"Public health is a way for folks to address health concerns in their communities, especially those that have been marginalised or have been historically disadvantaged. It's a way to do developmental work to improve one's community whilst simultaneously working to improve health conditions in the community"
What struck a cord with me was the fact that this field is multidisciplinary, integrating aspects of the biological and health sciences along with economics, ethnic studies, social welfare, political science and business administration to name but a few. In a world can sometimes work to define things as black and white, public health is a field that is the biggest and, to me, one of the most beautiful greys, where just about nothing is as clear cut as one could hope. This is so exciting and engaging for me, as someone who has always had many interests and the privilege to be exposed to many different cultures, people and their vast and varying experiences at a relatively young age. Public health is a field that combines so much of this for me, and having spent the last 3 years "figuring things out" at one of the best universities in the world, the idea of a career in public health feels like hug of a warm sweater.
This year, I've been working with an organization on campus, the Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative (BPSHI), which holds health clinics in community centres such as temples and mosques. BPSHI specifically looks to serve the low-income South Asian population in the Bay Area and focuses on cardiovascular health in particular, as this is a common issue that plagues South Asians across the world. Furthermore, I've recently accepted a research position at the Stanford School of Medicine, looking at Hepatitis B in a public health context, specifically cost-effectiveness and decision-making models for health policies, which is what I hope to focus in on with further studies in the field of Public Health. I could honestly not be more excited for this opportunity and can't wait to get started and learn more about what public health field work looks like. I'm especially hoping to apply a lot of what I have learnt so far in the minor and to look at the data analysis and policy-making aspects of this internship through the lens of the GPP minor. This has been such an incredible year in terms of realizations and life-decisions for me and I just hope that it continues in the positive direction that it has been taking and to continue to apply all of the stuff I've learnt in GPP 115 and 105 to be the double agent of social change that we are all gearing up to be.
I had the opportunity to talk with the Dean of the School of Public Health when he came and gave a guest lecture in one of my public health courses this semester, and had a really great conversation with him. What really interested me, however, was his view on public health:
"Public health is a way for folks to address health concerns in their communities, especially those that have been marginalised or have been historically disadvantaged. It's a way to do developmental work to improve one's community whilst simultaneously working to improve health conditions in the community"
What struck a cord with me was the fact that this field is multidisciplinary, integrating aspects of the biological and health sciences along with economics, ethnic studies, social welfare, political science and business administration to name but a few. In a world can sometimes work to define things as black and white, public health is a field that is the biggest and, to me, one of the most beautiful greys, where just about nothing is as clear cut as one could hope. This is so exciting and engaging for me, as someone who has always had many interests and the privilege to be exposed to many different cultures, people and their vast and varying experiences at a relatively young age. Public health is a field that combines so much of this for me, and having spent the last 3 years "figuring things out" at one of the best universities in the world, the idea of a career in public health feels like hug of a warm sweater.
This year, I've been working with an organization on campus, the Bhagat Puran Singh Health Initiative (BPSHI), which holds health clinics in community centres such as temples and mosques. BPSHI specifically looks to serve the low-income South Asian population in the Bay Area and focuses on cardiovascular health in particular, as this is a common issue that plagues South Asians across the world. Furthermore, I've recently accepted a research position at the Stanford School of Medicine, looking at Hepatitis B in a public health context, specifically cost-effectiveness and decision-making models for health policies, which is what I hope to focus in on with further studies in the field of Public Health. I could honestly not be more excited for this opportunity and can't wait to get started and learn more about what public health field work looks like. I'm especially hoping to apply a lot of what I have learnt so far in the minor and to look at the data analysis and policy-making aspects of this internship through the lens of the GPP minor. This has been such an incredible year in terms of realizations and life-decisions for me and I just hope that it continues in the positive direction that it has been taking and to continue to apply all of the stuff I've learnt in GPP 115 and 105 to be the double agent of social change that we are all gearing up to be.
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