By: Nyla Wansley
At the beginning of November, I attended the American Public Health Association conference in Washington D.C. I had an amazing time at this conference. 
I was supposed to attend a networking event at the African American museum and I was really excited about it because I’ve been to the museum before and it’s lovely, but due to the government shutdown the event was cancelled. I also attended the conference in Minneapolis last year and I had a great time, but the vibe of the conference was definitely different this year. On my first day at the conference I visited APHA’s expo space, where people can see different schools and organizations that are looking for students and/or are hiring. Due to budget cuts, it felt like there were almost no organizations hiring. As a young public health professional this felt a little disheartening and concerning because I am planning to graduate in May. After attending the expo, I decided to attend some sessions. I attended many sessions on nutrition, maternal health, and reproductive health in marginalized populations. A lot of these presenters were doing research that I am interested in and I was still able to connect with them after the fact. I also attended the Black Caucus meeting with a couple of other scholars and met some great people. People that were overseeing the meeting came up to us and asked us to be a friendly face at the door and pass out programs. This meeting time was a great way to connect with other black professionals in the field of public health. Although APHA was not all that I thought it would be, I am still cautiously optimistic about the future of public health.
Nyla Wansley, BS, is a second-year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2025. Her interests include HIV prevention, sexual health, health promotion, black maternal health and adolescent health. She also loves to cook, bake, color, paint and shop.
