Mia Owens’ younger brother, who was born premature, displayed symptoms of autism growing up. However, despite visiting multiple doctors, he wasn’t offered a diagnosis until his teenage years.
“It was pretty clear that he was autistic. That fight for just a simple diagnosis was my main introduction to the way that our healthcare system often fails people,” Owens said. “Seeing his journey and how our healthcare system is quite inefficient — especially to people in marginalized communities — really motivated me to not only want to look at different diseases, but understand how our system treats people with them.”
That motivation led Owens, now a freshman, to the University of Maryland, first intending to focus on healthcare policy. Then she learned of the new School of Public Health major Global Health and realized the major aligned perfectly with her interests and passions.
Global Health, which launched as a major in Fall of 2024, is the study of public health issues around the world and helps prepare students on how to address them.
“Global health is evolving,” said Global Health Undergraduate Program Director Hassanatu Blake, an associate clinical professor in the SPH Department of Global, Environmental, and Occupational Health. “We have a tremendous opportunity to approach global health disparities and their interventions to reduce these disparities. In the global health major, students learn about the science behind global health issues and how to respectfully integrate interventions in culturally appropriate ways that are led and owned by the communities they serve.”
Owens grew up between Charles and Prince George’s County. Through her close-knit family, Owens was exposed to many age groups, which she said gave her more understanding of health issues that different age groups face.
That open-mindedness made something like global health more exciting to me, as somebody who's always had an interest in healthcare.
“That open-mindedness made something like global health more exciting to me, as somebody who's always had an interest in healthcare,” Owens said.
Owens is a part of the Honors Global Challenges & Solutions Honors College, where she learns how to use data and science to combat global challenges. In her free time, she has had a lifelong love of reading, which she said exposed her to different perspectives and stories, helping her develop more empathy and confidence.
“Mia has proven to be a stellar scholar in the Introduction in Global Health course, with an interest in helping to redefine how health is done in communities through global health policy and law,” Blake said.
In the future, Owens hopes to work in the health law advocacy field to ensure that the legislation that affects how we have access to healthcare is being produced fairly and equitably. She is passionate about making healthcare more accessible to the African-American community, as she has experienced how racial inequality can hold Black individuals such as her own brother back.
“The only reason why I felt comfortable enough to join a new major in the first place is because the School of Public Health was so supportive in helping me,” Owens said. “Global health is perfect because it is so broad, and there are opportunities to tap into so many areas of the industry: I know I'll find a place for myself.”