By Kelly Naismith, BA
As I shuffled to finish exams and locate my warm clothing in preparation to attend APHA 2013 in Boston, I found myself getting really excited in anticipation of the conference. Shortly after arriving at the hotel, I took the opportunity to check out Boston a little before the next three jam-packed days began. Sunday morning started with the ATMCH Greg Alexander Student/Faculty breakfast. I enjoyed the opportunity to talk to people in various stages of their careers and received valuable advice from faculty. It was a great way to start the day. Next was the opening session. While all speakers were excellent, I was really impressed with Sir Michael Marmot’s speech. The energy his speech generated in the massive auditorium was truly inspiring—it set an optimistic tone and instilled pride in the audience to be in the field of public health.
I was blown away by the sheer size of APHA and spent more time at the expo and poster sessions than I expected. As a first semester MPH student, I visited several booths to get a better sense of public health organizations in my areas of interest and potential practicum and internship opportunities. I found the expo and poster sessions provided the most opportunity to network. I also attended several oral presentations and was particularly interested in a series of talks on the health of incarcerated pregnant women and research presented on family planning in refugee settings.
I gained a lot from APHA and left Boston with renewed excitement about opportunities in maternal and child health. I explored my areas of interest, learned about cutting-edge research and had engaging conversations with several people. I am already looking forward to APHA in New Orleans next year.
Kelly Naismith is a first-year MPH student and MCHLT Scholar, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health.
