Get Involved with Public Health Practice & Community Engagement

Fatima Saccoh

This Public Health Practice Spotlight is highlighting Fatima and her Population Health internship at Howard University! In this remote role, she collaborates on an intervention with preventive medicine residents that aims to understand how walking improves health conditions, with a focus on populations in the Washington, D.C. area. Through her internship, she has been learning about the research process by being involved in qualitative data collection and analysis. Fatima has developed leadership skills, gained experience in community outreach, and gotten the chance to interact with stakeholders. Her favorite part so far has been the interventions, especially the walk-a-thons, because they are a fun and laid-back way to get people engaged. She enjoys connecting with patients and applying what she has learned in the classroom to real-life settings. 

While this particular study is not looking for any more interns, you can always keep an eye out for similar opportunities by looking on university pages and reaching out to departments and faculty. Excellent job, Fatima!

Gabriel Dogbanya

This Public Health Practice Spotlight features graduate student Gabriel Dogbanya and his position at Volare, a Network for Victim Recovery in D.C., that supports victims of violence and aids in their recovery programs. In his asynchronous role, he completes 3-5 hours of work a week, focusing on skills such as program planning, evaluation, and efficacy outcomes using both qualitative and quantitative data. Gabriel is completing this internship as part of a course requirement, and he enjoys engaging with the program managers, receiving positive feedback, and appreciating the sense of humility that comes with seeing the programs receive good responses from participants.

This opportunity is not currently seeking other interns; however, reaching out to other county programs is a way to get involved in similar work. Gabriel urges every student “to aspire to be engaged in the community in any way possible”, noting the importance of working with community partners and learning outside of the classroom. Thank you for your impactful work, Gabriel!

Mason Huynh

This Public Health Practice Spotlight features undergraduate student Mason, one of the Directors of Programming for the Kidney Disease Screening & Awareness Program at UMD. This program leads screening and community tabling events in DC and Prince George’s County, and works on a variety of health projects.

Each week, he spends about 3 hours on the initiative. His role involves organizing the GBM calendar, creating professional development opportunities for their members, and supporting the club's day-to-day operations, including finances, recruitment, and equipment. Mason’s favorite project is the new physician mentorship program for members, which pairs a physician mentor with a student mentee. The organization is always looking for more members and volunteers, and it is an excellent way for pre-health students and Public Health students to get involved! If you are interested, check out their linktree at https://linktr.ee/umcpkdsap and email umcpkdsap@gmail.com with any questions. Nice work, Mason!

Maame Akua Appiah

This Public Health Practice Spotlight features sophomore Akua and her internship with the Maryland State Dental Association Foundation (MDSA)! Her role entails a variety of tasks, including sending emails relating to dental care, managing social media, creating professional and attractive flyers, and looking for grants for funding. She has strengthened skills including professionalism, collaboration, Canva design, and technical work. Her position is mostly virtual and takes about five hours each weekday, however they do go in person to the office occasionally and the site hosts in-person events. 

This internship has been particularly valuable to Auka who plans to become an orthodontist as she is gaining first hand experience in the world of dentistry. One of the projects the foundation is working on that she particularly enjoys, is an initiative called  “Give Kids a Smile” which is a national initiative that provides free oral health education, screenings, preventive and restorative treatment to children, because she can see the impact she is making especially with giving kids a positive dental experience who may have been scared to be treated. Akua emphasized the importance of seeking a career you are passionate about and really see yourself making a difference in, as that ambition will take you farther than anything else. Nice work Akua!

MSDAF is looking for more interns for the Spring, you can email them at foundation@msda.com or check out their website http://msdaf.org/. 

Meghna Krishnan

This Public Health Practice spotlight is on senior Meghna and her role as a research assistant at the University of Maryland Center for Substance Use, Addiction, and Health Research (CESAR) Lab. The lab focuses on domestic drug addiction and mental health, specifically looking at the issue of methadone treatment and substance abuse disorder in Baltimore, Maryland. UMD is also partnering with Cape Town University in South Africa on this lab. Meghna’s role is mainly remote, with a once-weekly in-person team meeting. Her main roles include transcript coding and transcribing interviews. She enjoys this work, knowing that the research is very impactful, as drug addiction and mental health are underfunded areas of study. 

Through her role, Meghna has developed time management skills, as much of the work has a quick turnaround time, and the lab has given her experience working independently with minimal supervision. She also appreciates the emphasis the lab has placed on her career development and learning what she wants to from the work. Meghna recommends that students go out of their comfort zone, send the cold emails, and get involved on campus, looking at places you think may not even interest you, because you will be surprised where that will leave you. Nice work, Meghna!

The lab is always looking for more help, so be sure to check it out https://cesar.umd.edu/.