Life Support Personal Statement

Growing up with a mother who is a nurse, I have been able to appreciate and understand the importance of public health. She taught me not only how crucial personal health is but also how important community health and prevention is. My mother raised me to have compassion and empathy for others as well. This rooted my interest in careers that can have high beneficial impacts on others’ lives, such as those under the field of public health.

The invaluable skills that I have gained and learned through my after school clubs, Future Business Leaders of America, (FBLA) and National Honor Society( NHS), has stirred up a desire in me to help my community and to make a difference in the lives of people, by majoring in the Public Health field. Through Public Health, I will help those in my community at large to live healthy lives; mentally, socially, physically and culturally. Healthcare is an essential need in life and is a great field that would allow me to make a difference.

The healthcare sector offers a variety of professional opportunities that include pediatric, geriatrics, public policy and many other areas in which I hope to make a impact towards. I have always been intrigued by medicine and continue to gain more interest in public health. In the future, I desire to combine both medicine and public health by participating in an MD and MPH program. My experiences and education provide me with constant motivation in achieving my goals.

During my undergraduate career at Florida A&M University, I discovered the Public Health graduate school program and I knew this would be a perfect way to make health and diseases, infectious and otherwise, fit into my future plans while expanding my horizons. I have the desire to be one of the movers in the healthcare field, finding answers to the never-ending questions as to why certain diseases are prevalent and others are not. I want to be the person that researches, plans, and executes healthcare programs and policies that will ultimately improve the healthcare field in America. I naturally see myself as a leader and I know that the field of Public Health will help me sharpen my skills as well as bring out the leader that I know I am.

The patience, compassion and encouragement of one person improved my family’s last years with its patriarch in countless ways. It was this improvement that inspired me to pursue a career as an

In addition, teaching is a significant part of any doctor’s life. As physicians, we are constantly educating not only our patients and their families, but also other physicians, residents and medical students. A physician may know all the medical information in the world, but the care of a patient is primarily predicated on that physician’s ability to successfully

The American Public Health Association (APHA) is made up of 31 basic sections which represent key public health disciplines. Through these sections, members with mutual interests are able to combine efforts and develop scientific program content as well as policy papers in their areas of practice or areas where they are interested. In addition, these basic sections provide for social and professional networking, mentoring and career development. The sections are APHA’s key professional units and they help in promoting the mission and fulfilling the Association’s goals. Through these sections, a variety of opportunities for the involvement of the members, thus making a richer experience for the professionals who decide on interacting with the Association’s primary sections. In order to become an active member in this section, a person ought to be a current member of the Association and any professional who is already a member of the Association may become a section member (American Public Health

After beginning medical school, I quickly realized that for every one question we could answer there were about a dozen that could not be answered. I delved even deeper into my studies, determined to learn all I could to help my patients to the best of my ability. Suddenly, two of my close family members died, and with this my determination to find answers increased again. Something else awoke within me during the morning of these loved ones, as well. I truly understood what families were going through while watching their loved ones suffering, and my empathy, compassion, and bedside manner became even stronger.

Walking through Louisiana in the middle of summer is no picnic. Not only is the temperature sweltering, but the mosquitos are ferocious. Every year my church sponsors a missionary trip down the Tigre Bayou to vaccinate at risk communities, and to educate population centers about the importance of exercise and diet. Although the United States has some of the best doctors in the world, we have many population centers that have little to no access to medical care, which places them at risk. The healthcare disparity in the U.S.A is egregious and unfortunately is a reality in rural America. I am passionate about not only healthcare disparity, but diseases that afflict at risk populations, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The purpose of this personal essay is to communicate why I would like to study public health at Campbell University, how my past education has prepared me to be a public health professional, my reasons and motivation for enrolling in a public health program and my career plans upon completion of the public health program.

Since coming to college, I have grown a desire to help create policies and programs to alleviate the disparities that exist in the US and globally. The understanding I have gained from sociology and ethics classes I have taken at UT has broadened my interest in health care and my volunteer experiences have solidified this classroom knowledge. As a student in the Health Science Scholars Honors Program, I have the opportunity to complete a senior capstone thesis project. This interest has had a major role in directing my research and I believe will effect the direction that I take in my career.

Seeking an MPH was an invaluable opportunity for me to grow as a health professional. In addition to learning about an important approach to disease management and population wellness, it confirmed to me that I wanted to expand the scope of my work beyond dentistry. I knew that gaining a medical degree would help me to become a better public health professional. I also knew that my knowledge of public health would make me a better physician, and many of my professors served as excellent career role models. As I had the opportunity to work with them in conducting health research, I knew that I had made the right choice to seek an MPH. In the end, I successfully

I further supported my studies in biology and my interest of assisting the needy by volunteering at my hometown’s emergency room. While I did find that working at the emergency room constantly catered to my passion for knowledge about medicine, it was my trustworthy and compassionate nature that allowed me a heightened ability to interact with patients in a reliable and effective manner. I continued my desire by shadowing physicians in the many different departments of the hospital. However, since the marvels of the heart always left me in wonder, I found myself drawn into the life of a cardiologist. While shadowing him in his private practice, I had the chance to appreciate the responsibilities, commitment, and satisfaction of a career in

I have learned to look at health and medicine in a similar light. My mother - an obstetrician/gynecologist

By participating in the Future Public Health Leader Program (FPHLP), I hope to gain knowledge and experience of working in a Public Health environment with people of similar interest. As I am completing my second year at University of California, Santa Cruz, I have decided to major in Community Studies and Psychology with an emphasis in Public Health. This is because of the large stigma of health issues attached to my Samoan community.

I was drawn to the idea of not only focusing on one-on-one patient care that doctors provide, but also solving problems that affect the health of entire populations. The study of disease and health within populations; for instance, preventing disease, promoting health, and reducing health problems between groups are the main reasons I want to pursue an M.P.H focusing on epidemiology. These are my strongest interests because I believe they are important in improving our world’s health.