A career in public health is the perfect path for me. My ultimate goal is to improve human health and well-being, especially in disadvantaged communities. By working in the field of public health, I can assist in improving the quality and safety of millions of lives. As far back as I can remember, my immigrant parents would always remind me how lucky I was to grow up in such a well-off country and how back in Ethiopia, millions of people were struggling to survive. They would tell me stories about how families had little to no access to clean water or hygiene and would get very ill and die due to limited medicine and treatment. It was always sad to think about, but I simply felt like there was nothing I could do to help. Right before college, I decided to follow the pre-medical track with no specifics in mind. All I knew was that I desired to provide aid to those who needed it. Things changed with the news about a highly infectious virus spreading across the globe. During this time, I kept thinking, “If we were to take protective measures early enough, we could avoid the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus within our community.” My frustrations grew seeing the whole world come to an abrupt stop when the situation could have been prevented by prioritizing public health education. Eventually, I realized rather than simply treating issues after they have already occurred, I wanted to contribute to the world by preventing issues before they happen through education. It also dawned on me that preventative interventions and public education would also be a good approach to dealing with health crises in suffering developing countries, such as Ethiopia. If I cannot help everyone who is already sick, I can help promote well-being and health stability in the long run by limiting factors that contribute to illness. This reflection led me to pursue a degree in public health. I recently received my bachelor’s degree in environmental health and I am currently pursuing an MPH so that I may further enhance my knowledge and experience. With an MPH, I intend to address public health concerns and contribute to interventions in local communities that suffer health disparities. In addition, I desire to travel to third-world countries and help developing societies incorporate safe public health practices and improve overall public health. After earning an MPH, I am interested in pursuing a medical degree which I would utilize in tandem with my MPH to understand and treat the physical adverse effects of environmental factors on human health. I enjoy that there are many ways that I can contribute to this field. Specifically, I am currently interested in water, sanitation, and hygiene (W.A.S.H), infectious diseases, and air pollution. With what I learn, I will take full advantage of my opportunity to make a difference, and I will emphasize and promote the importance of public health in the current state of the world.

Higher education is an important stepping stone to reach my ultimate goal of improving human health and well-being, especially in disadvantaged communities. As far back as I can remember, my immigrant parents would always remind me how lucky I was to grow up in such a well-off country and how back in Ethiopia, millions of people were struggling to survive. They would tell me stories about how families in the countryside had little to no access to clean water or hygiene and would get very ill and die due to limited medicine and treatment. It was always sad to think about, but I simply felt like there was nothing I could do to help. Right before college, I initially decided to follow the pre-medical track with no specifics in mind. All I knew was that I desired to provide aid to those who need it and positively contribute to society. Things changed when the world shifted to a devastating state as news spread about a highly infectious virus spreading across the globe. During my last few weeks of high school, I kept thinking to myself “If we were to take protective measures early enough, we could avoid the rapid spread of the COVID-19 virus within our community,” but it seemed like nobody was educated on how to do so. My frustrations grew seeing the whole world come to an abrupt stop when the situation could have been prevented by teaching proper health education and prioritizing public health. Eventually, I realized rather than simply treating issues after they have already occurred, I wanted to contribute to the world by preventing issues before they happen through education, saving more people from the troubles, pain, and heartache that they could face. It also dawned on me that preventative interventions and public education would also be a good approach to deal with the growing health crisis in suffering developing countries such as Ethiopia. If I could not help the masses who were already sick, I could contribute my efforts to promoting well-being and health stability in the long run by limiting factors that contribute to illness. This reflection and realization ultimately contributed to my decision to pursue a degree in public health. I recently received my bachelor's degree in Environmental Health. I am passionate about continuing to enhance my knowledge and experience in the field. As of now, I feel solid about the amount I know about public health and environmental health, but I know that in order to truly make a difference, I need to further my expertise. To do this, I have decided to pursue a Master of Public Health degree. With an MPH, I intend to address public health concerns and contribute to environmental health interventions in local communities and developing countries that suffer health disparities. I enjoy that there are different facets of this field, meaning that there are many ways that I can contribute. By pursuing higher education, I will become more knowledgeable about how I can contribute to positive movements and help those who are disadvantaged and have little to no other help. Specifically, I am currently interested in water, sanitation, and hygiene, as well as infectious disease ecology and air pollution. With what I learn, I will fully take advantage of my opportunity to make a difference and I will emphasize and promote the importance of public health education in the current state of the world. In addition to helping local communities, I desire to travel to third-world countries and help developing societies incorporate safe public health practices and improve overall environmental health.