By Caroline Kusi, BA, MPH
One of the many aspects I enjoyed about APHA was the Maternal and Child Health breakfast meeting with other students and faculty. I truly appreciated the set-up of the breakfast and how students could easily move from table to table. I felt honored to be able to engage in conversations with various faculty and professionals with different areas of research and backgrounds. I also enjoyed listening to other students express their research interests and ways in which they were actively pursuing their research and professional careers.
One of the things I found very valuable about the breakfast was the advice that faculty members gave students about finding a balance between practice and research. I think oftentimes students like myself wonder how we can combine both practice and research in our careers and having affirmation that it is possible was refreshing. I learned that it is important to be receptive to doing things outside of your research interests. Further, I was very thankful to hear faculty stress the importance of diversifying our skills in order to be competitive for various job positions. I left the session knowing that I needed to enhance my data analysis, statistical software, and data interpretation skills in order to be a better professional. I also learned the importance of being flexible about positions I seek and attain in the future because every opportunity in public health gives you skills that can be used in other future contexts.
I was privileged to be able to speak with a faculty member from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill about ways in which I can utilize my summers as a doctoral student in order to strengthen my research skills and gain practice experience with a potential international health organization I would hope to conduct research for. I was grateful to receive helpful advice based on her own experiences in working internationally both in research and practice. All in all, the breakfast was an invaluable experience.
Caroline Kusi is a first-year PhD student in the Department of Global Community Health and Behavioral Sciences. Her research interests include maternal and neonatal mortality, capacity building, and implementation science.
