Helen grew up in Ames, Iowa. She graduated from Syracuse University in 2008 with a Bachelor of Science in Child and Family Studies and worked as a Lead Teacher at an early childhood education center following graduation. She is a third year dual Medical Doctorate (MD) and Master of Public Health (MPH) student. During her year of MPH training, Helen is working as a Graduate Research Assistant for the Master of Public Health Program. Helen is enjoying learning about all areas of public health and is particularly interested in the fields of pediatrics, maternal and child health and health policy. She serves as Co-President of the Pediatrics Interest Group and as a VP for the American Medical Association-Iowa Medical Society Student Organization at the Carver College of Medicine. She has recently begun volunteering for the Mobile Clinic. Helen enjoys cooking, spin classes, listening to public radio and traveling to visit family and friends around the country.
The
end of the semester is within sight! Next Tuesday is my last exam and due date
for the semester! If you were to take a
walk around the College of Public Health Building any day this week, you would find
most of us here, at a computer, diligently typing away at a final paper, creating
a poster, preparing a presentation, or most likely a little (or a lot) of
each. If you listened in on a
conversation you would hear people bouncing ideas back and forth about their
projects, discussing how to cite a reference in format x, y or z, or asking how
much time is left until 5pm (that’s when things are due many times). It may
not look like much from the outside but it is pretty cool sometimes to think
about all the future public health programs, policies, and organizations coming
to life in the minds of our student body.
Sure, we are sitting here now in our comfy clothes, with about 20
different pieces of paper spread around us – some of which are encroaching on
the floor space. And yes, that white
board might look like a scene from the Beautiful Mind but just maybe the
solutions to the childhood obesity, to the HIV/AIDS pandemic or to, dare I say it, US
health care policy issues could be being thought up somewhere right now.
Another
thing to be excited about, amidst the end of the semester activities are those
that get us ready for next semester. For
me this includes having an interview for my practicum project at the Iowa Department
of Public Health and attending a group meeting for my Winterim class. For this class (Economic and Health Care
Innovations to Help Women & Children Escape Poverty) I will travel to Chennai and Pondicherry, India where we will learn, amongst other things, about
microfinance organizations helping women and their families. This is the first time I have learned about microfinance at all and so far I am finding it to be a truly
inspired idea. Who knows? Perhaps
it was thought up by some lowly graduate student rushing to finish a final
project by 5pm.
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