Mikayla Walker
Master of Public Health, Health Equity
Mikayla Walker earned a Master of Public Health with a concentration in health equity from the University of Maryland School of Public Health and a BS in public health, with minors in biology and criminal justice at George Washington University.
During her MPH program, Mikayla was selected as a 2019-2020 Philanthropy Fellow by the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG) and the University of Maryland’s Do Good Institute and will be working with Grantmakers in Health for her fellowship.
Mikayla graduated in Spring 2020 and hopes to apply to global health fellowships work on access to care for underserved populations internationally. She wants to eventually use her Spanish skills in a Spanish-speaking country.
“The reason why I was so drawn to public health is because I knew I could use the public health mindset in any field I wanted to go into: politics, science, forensics and more. Public health can be used in so many different arenas,” Mikayla said. “It brings together different people in different fields, but is altogether about improving health.”
What do you think is the biggest challenge that the public health field should be focusing on?
Globally, it’s access to care. Here in the United States, we have all these huge problems with rural populations, cultural differences, insurance --and access to care is severed. Internationally, there are so many other factors as well that don’t allow people to access the care that they need. It puts all these people in a more vulnerable position.
Smoking cessation and prevention is also a huge challenge that the public health field should be focusing on. As someone with asthma, it’s personal to me. Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the world and that’s something I want to continue working on.
Why did you choose public health at UMD?
I knew that I wanted to do an MPH during my sophomore year of college. I knew it would open up so many more doors for me because the degree would enhance my skills in general and make me a better and stronger leader in public health.
Medical schools usually don’t talk about public health, and as someone that might be a physician, I want to have that public health foundation before going to medical school.
I chose the University of Maryland because when I came during the open house, I felt welcomed, part of family and community. A lot of faculty already knew my name. They have been able to help coach me, and I really feel like they are invested in my future.
The program is actually the perfect size because people can get to know me and my strengths, and I can make a name for myself and excel in my field while still keeping a tight-knit community.
What person or experience had the greatest impact on you during your degree program?
It’s hard to pick just one. A lot of little experiences have shaped my time here at Maryland. But, Dylan Roby (associate professor in the health policy and management department) has been extremely helpful in helping me advance my career. He pushed me to go to the public health career expo, and I did. Within a week, I had an internship. A lot of my advancements outside of academics are from things he has connected me with. There’s a lot of mentorship at this school which has been extremely helpful.
How has your degree program at UMD’s School of Public Health shaped your career goals?
Coming here has sort of made things slightly difficult in deciding to pursue medical school because it has opened up so many public health careers that would be just as fulfilling.
I wasn’t even considering consulting until after I came here, and now I am strongly looking into doing consulting work when I graduate, because of conversations I have had with professors, expos internships.