Public Health Personal Statement

What if people exercised precautions against disease and injury? What if people practiced healthy lifestyles? Throughout my undergraduate career, I spent significant time shadowing clinical health professionals, and these questions often popped into my head. I shadowed multiple surgeons, physicians, and physical therapists and I often found myself pondering these questions. During the significant time I spent in physical therapy offices, I often thought about the prevention of the injuries rather than the injuries themselves. Through multiple life changing experiences, I saw an increasing need for a level of healthcare prior to diagnosis of an injury or disease. I have always known that I wanted a career in healthcare but knowing that public

To me, Public health is the prevention of injury and diseases, as well as the promotion of global health for the betterment of the community. My ultimate goal for a career in public health is to be able to enhance the quality of life and improve life expectancy that we as a community experience. Public health has several serious current issues, but some of the issues that stand out to me as areas of interest are childhood obesity and tobacco use. My interest in these topics has been shaped by several things, some that date clear back to when I was a young child, and some things that I just recently experienced. My interest in the use of tobacco has been influenced by two major experiences. The most recent experience came to me when I was shadowing a cardiothoracic surgeon. I was sitting in the operating room, watching a very innovative surgery, which involved the assistance of a robot, when I finally saw the lungs of the man on the table; they were almost completely black. The surgeon had to remove a large

The research experience that I have gained by working in my lab has been a very valuable learning tool. Several research projects that I have been a part of have focused on nutrition, physical activity and the epidemic of obesity. Childhood obesity happens to be one of the most serious public health issues of the 21st century. It is also an issue of great interest to me. I have a great compassion and love for children that I have developed over the course of my time as an assistant teacher. My love for children alongside with my new found interest in obesity that I have gained due to my valuable research, as well as the leadership roles I have experienced in both of these settings, have inevitably led me to the realization that public health is the career path of choice for