The broad field of public health offers students a tremendous range of career choices. A new grant-funded career development program will help expose undergraduate public health majors to many of those possibilities, connecting them with professionals and alumni in a variety of professional roles.
“It’s expanding on what we already do in our curriculum, to build professional development skills for our students,” says Michelle Scarpulla, instructor in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, who was awarded the grant with Caite Wolak, undergraduate program director for the bachelor of science in public health. "Students in our undergrad program have a Public Health Careers course in their first year and a professional development course called Professional Seminar as seniors. And they do 300 hours of internship.”
The new program, under a Public Health Education Enhancement and Development (PHEED) grant from the Association of Schools and Programs in Public Health (ASPPH), will fund student field trips to local public health agencies and to networking events such as professional conferences.
“We'll also do alumni networking events, where our alumni who are working in the field of public health will come back, either virtually or in person, to speak with students about their work and career progression,” Scarpulla says. Alumni slated to participate are working across the spectrum of public health in areas ranging from research to health education to direct care. The program also will hire two undergraduate interns to help coordinate the professional development activities, building their networking skills in that role. The program will begin in the fall of 2024 and run through the spring of 2025.
“The idea is to show students in the bachelor of science in public health program all the opportunities that are out there,” Scarpulla says. “If you're going to be a nurse, that pathway is very clear. If you're going to be a physical therapist, that pathway is clear. Because public health is so broad, graduating students have to decide which way to go. I'm hoping that by hearing from all these alumni, they’ll get some concrete ideas on what their pathways can look like.”