No stranger to academic rigor, Biglin is a 2024 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar, student ambassador, Global Public Health Scholar and BS-MPH enrollee in the health policy analysis and evaluation concentration. She has interned across the field of public health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and within the private sector. Biglin is excited to use her interdisciplinary perspective to go fearlessly forward in public health.
Biglin sat down with Ian Schuster ’23, MPH ’24 to discuss her experience at UMD as well as her future in public health:
What inspired you to pursue a major in PHSC, a concentration in health policy analysis and evaluation and a minor in Spanish?
In high school I did model UN and more of the social sciences, but I was interested in potentially pursuing medicine; so when I learned about the field of public health, I was like, ‘This is the perfect connection between those two ideas!’
When learning about the social determinants of health in undergrad, I became very interested in the societal and political level of the determinants of health, and how all our different policies–from insurance access to mental health to even urban design and development–how all policies impact health. I wanted to be able to make a broader societal impact in my career.
I chose a Spanish minor because I wanted to be able to communicate with more populations and I felt that being able to connect with Spanish-speaking populations was important, whether I went into medicine or public health.
What does it mean to you to be recognized as a 2024 Philip Merrill Presidential Scholar?
I loved that the focus of the award was on mentorship [each award recipient chooses two academic mentors to be recognized], not just in college, but throughout my entire academic experience, so I was able to reflect on all of the teachers and professors that have guided me along the way.
I was able to recognize my high school Spanish teacher who influenced my decision to continue learning Spanish and one of my professors from freshman year, who is the director of the Global Public Health Scholars Program. Both of them were really influential in helping me decide what I wanted to do academically and professionally.
What inspired you to apply for the BS+MPH accelerated program?
Once I decided that I wanted to fully pursue public health, I found that getting an MPH is a good idea for career development within the field and also an opportunity to get specialized skills, such as coding. I like that the degree allows you to save time and money. Being able to do graduate courses senior year and knowing that I would be able to have my MPH early on in my career has been the best part.
Tell me about being a PHSC student ambassador and the impact it had on you.
As a student ambassador, I served on a lot of student panels, spoke at open houses about my experience in the major and did peer advising and mentoring, where we would match with a freshman in the major.
It's made me more passionate about the major because I'm able to share my experiences with other people and reflect on what I value about the program. I've gotten to be a mentor for first and second year students and help them pick their career paths and make academic choices, which has been really cool and rewarding.
What is your most memorable experience as a PHSC student?
It was a unique time to be a public health science student during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a lot of the classes, I remember them saying, normally we would tell you what terms like quarantine mean, but you all already know it. That was a memorable part: being in this field during a time when public health has gotten a lot of national attention.
Also, all the different internships that I've gotten to do have been very memorable, getting to apply the public health knowledge from the classes and internship experiences.
What strategies have you used to stay on top of your coursework?
I utilized a lot of the resources that UMD offered. I went to office hours and guided study sessions. I also treated homework as a kind of practice exam; if I didn't understand a part of the homework, I would take it to my professor and review the content. I’d also copy over my notes and then try every day to do a little bit of practice for it, and that ended up really helping me learn.
What is one piece of advice you would give an SPH undergrad?
Find as many opportunities as you can to test out parts of this field. I was able to do an internship with a government organization, a nonprofit and the private sector. That variety of experiences told me a lot about what I liked and didn't like. Also, with elective options, try and find courses you haven't explored before to see if you like that field.
What are your plans after graduation?
After graduation, I will be finishing up my last year of the MPH program. This summer, I‘m going back to my previous internship with Westat, to work on their health communications team.
I'm also considering applying for a Fulbright scholarship to be an English teaching assistant in a Spanish-speaking country. It would improve my Spanish skills, broaden my cultural experiences, and I could bring that back to public health.
I want to continue working in public health and focusing on the societal, systemic lens of social determinants of health and reduce health disparities in chronic disease prevention. I'm still deciding what capacity I want to do that in.
How will you use your education to make a difference in the field of public health?
I want to use the well-rounded knowledge that I've gotten through the public health science major to make sure that we address social determinants, systemic racism, environmental racism, all of those different aspects, and their cumulative effects on health. I want to use that perspective of understanding and bring cultural humility and centering communities into health policy or health communications in the future.