As I was filtering through and categorizing questions and topics, I realized that not everyone is in this field of public health or in a position learning about it. I could simply define the field as the science of protecting and promoting the health of a population, but there are some complexities and misconceptions to unpack. What better way to explain what public health really is than to share about how I learned and knew that this was my forever path.

From a very young age, I knew I had a heart for helping others and serving the nations, but I also loved science, math, and health. I had vivid dreams as a kid of going to help in different countries and would wake my parents up with a globe to show them where I went. As a teenager, I used my significant teen birthdays as fundraisers to help others. I’d tell my friends to bring cash instead of gifts, and then I used the money to purchase supplies for people experiencing homelessness in cities around me.

I knew there had to be some path that combined my heart to serve the nations, health, science, math, and helping others…