By Ashley Hoover, BS
While the thought of having APHA toward the end of the semester seemed slightly overwhelming with schoolwork looming overhead, I am glad to have had the opportunity to go. My first time at APHA (last year) was eye-opening, inspiring, exhausting, and extremely informative/helpful in guiding the rest of my graduate career at Tulane. However, I often felt naive and unsure of my attendance there; so many other students knew the exact path they were taking, knew how to express their interests and career goals ever so eloquently. I, on the other hand, could barely spit out a single word. So instead of talking, I listened. I took notes, I reflected on the sessions I attended, I started to hone in on my own interests and the options I had in front of me; ultimately, this helped me through this past year of graduate school and even in choosing my internship for the summer.
For some reason, I expected the same of myself this year during APHA–overwhelmed, flustered, and tongue-tied. This, of course led to my trepidation of attending APHA this year, especially because I was hoping to use this time to network with others in the field as I prepare to enter it myself. To my surprise, my interests and career goals flowed so much more easily out of my mouth and I made some wonderful professional and personal connections during the conference. I realized that, while my experience last year might have been slightly scarring (but not really), it was an important step to where I am even just a year later. My time at APHA this year was spent in more sessions that expressed my interests and connecting with poster and oral presenters. Attending APHA is not only a great way to fine tune our interests and skills we cultivate throughout our graduate career, but also in making connections (both personal and profession) that will likely last through my career.
Ashley Hoover is a second-year MPH student and MCHLT Scholar, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. Her interests include women’s health across the life course, reproductive health, maternal and child health epidemiology, and reducing disparities and inequities in birth outcomes.
