Why I Want To Pursue A Public Health Degree

My journey in public health did start as a beneficiary rather than a career goal. For instance, mass polio vaccination campaigns or use of mass media to teach about HIV/AIDS were a big part of my childhood memory. Thus, when I was exploring public health as a career, I was captivated to know more about the field and understand its impacts in my community. Understanding this personal connection has influenced my choice of public health as a career and helped me work hard during my undergraduate study at George Mason University. As a child, I was always curious to know more about nature. I was also fascinated by the human body and aspired to work in the health field. Thus, I joined the Faculty of science at Addis Ababa University and graduated in applied biology. Although I enjoyed studying biology, I struggled to find a career path that encompasses public service and science. The closest thing that I was able to do was become a science teacher in an elementary school. Besides, the political atmosphere was unstable in Ethiopia which led

Once I settled, I made a conscious decision to attend Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) to continue my education. I took this opportunity to follow my newly found passion for public health and decided to start at an undergraduate level to grasp fundamental knowledge in the profession. Consequently, I transferred to George Mason University and joined the Community Health program with a concentration in Global Health. In my two years stay at GMU, I learned the basics of public health and its application on a global scale. I was also introduced to the different fields of public health including epidemiology. Epidemiology captivated me as a key concept in public health, and it precisely connected science and service in the field. Also, it introduced me to innovative ways of identifying determinants of health and developing solutions that focus on preventative