Several of our MCH students attended the 2021 American Public Health Association (APHA) conference, October 24-27, in-person or online. What follows is a post from one of the attendees.
By Natalia Machicote, BA
I had the great opportunity to attend the American Public Health Association Conference in Denver thanks to Tulane University’s Center of Excellence for Maternal and Child Health (CEMCH). Arriving in Denver, most of my colleagues and I did not know what to expect. I have only been focusing on public health as a professional for a year, and I was concerned about the expectations those attending the conference would have on students. However, from the time we entered those doors and passed the big blue bear outside the conference building, my team and I only received big smiles and enthusiasm from staff or professionals we met along the way. These interactions were so critical and important to me since it would set the tone to what my future would look like and the people I would be working with.
The conference provided a wide range of presentations about specific studies and topics. Two talks that stuck with me were a presentation about Colorado’s Youth Engagement and the other about Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Asian immigrant communities. Colorado’s Youth Engagement opened my eyes to how crucial it is for us to start involving the youth in our practices, especially if it impacts them in any way. Hearing personal accounts about how important it is to be involved in society from teenagers that serve as Youth Leaders helped me realize how essential they are in the upkeep of future generations. The second talk that deeply affected me was about a woman who shared her experience as a Vietnamese immigrant and her life journey navigating ICE, incarceration, social stigmas, lack of support, etc. She started her talk clarifying that her story is not unique, that many go through the same challenges that she went through. She began to tell us about her life and all the challenges she had to overcome.
One thing I noticed that the conference gave me clarity in was how much I value hearing individual’s stories about how specific public health issues affected them and how they managed to overcome them, especially those involving human rights violations. Relating all this to what I am pursuing my studies in, all the talks I heard in the APHA2021 conference were eye opening. Being surrounded by so many public health professionals and seeing what they are doing in their own field motivated me to keep my hard work going as well as be prepared for the challenges that come from trying to achieve health equity.
Natalia Machicote, BA, is a first-year MPH student, concentrating in Maternal and Child Health. She plans to graduate in May 2023. Her interests include reproductive health, birth equity, and immigrant populations. She also loves working out, music, and eating.
