Students
Showcasing their passion, TIPH Student Ambassadors raise awareness about public health issues, careers, and education
2019-2020 TIPH Student Ambassadors
ASPPH Member Student Spotlight
Students at ASPPH member institutions are already impacting public health.
Today is my first day of classes. For today’s, #ambassadortakeover, my plan was to share some of the things that I love about my program. But then I read the news.
Racism is a public health crisis. The vision of Healthy People 2020 is “a society in which all people live long, healthy lives.” All people. Growing up, racism was defined to me as something only bad people did. Individual actions. As I’ve grown, learned, reflected, and traveled, my understanding of both race and racism has changed.
As a high school biology teacher, race undoubtedly was a topic of discussion. We learn about our human bodies and the interconnectedness of all life on earth. I learned to prepare for the question, “So, what is race, Ms. Vaughn?” I would show videos and we would have discussions about how race is a social classification, not a biological descriptor. And students would wrestle with this, as I have wrestled with this. This fact that biologically, race doesn’t matter at all but socially matters a lot. In the real world, where we live each day, these social constructions of race have very real impacts. These discussions would ultimately lead us to the question, “Where do we go from here?”
So, where do we go from here? Dr. Camara Jones is a public health researcher whose work focuses on naming, measuring, and addressing the impacts of racism on health and well-being of the nation. In the journal Phylon (2003), Dr. Jones defines racism as “a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how we look (race), that unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, while unfairly advantages others and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.” When I say racism is a public health crisis, this isn’t just me calling for individual actions to change. It is a call to examine our society and ask ourselves the question, “How is racism operating here?” and take the steps to address it. If we can’t name it and talk about it, we can’t address it. (continued in comments)
Today is National Voter Registration Day! Voting is a public health issue because it helps to shape the conditions in which people live. Voting means having the opportunity to shape the future of our country; the opportunity to ask how things can be done differently. Today, I’m asking myself a few questions and takings steps to ensure that I’m registered to vote, that I know the deadlines for requesting and sending a mail-in ballot, that I’ve found reliable places to learn more about candidates, and that I’m aware of opportunities, as a young person, to continue to help my community. The link in our bio (vote.org) is a reliable place to answer many of these questions.
The conversation about voting wouldn’t be complete without mentioning voter suppression and voting rights in our country. If we acknowledge the barriers that exist and know what to look for, we can work together to overcome them. Check out our stories for links to organizations that are working to fight voter suppression and ensure all of our voices are heard.
I’m voting because I have high expectations for my country and my community. I’m not just participating in electoral politics but making sure I’m engaged in local and state elections as well. I’m voting so that my voice on policies that I care about like education, combating systemic racism, public health, and climate change, are heard. Why are you voting?
#ThisIsPublicHealth #AmbassadorTakeOver #BetheChange
My path to public health is different than many. The picture above is me teaching in my Biology classroom, when I started my career as a high school science teacher, teaching in various cities across the U.S. My work in the classroom, and the people I met while doing that work, greatly inform my goals as a future public health professional.
Public health seeks to assure the conditions in which people can be healthy. But health is not a destination. Rather, it’s a continuous pursuit of mental, physical, and social well-being [13]. Because this pursuit is continuous across the lifespan, factors such as our access to a quality education [3], the neighborhoods we live in [7], access to healthy food [6], and of course, healthcare itself, all can contribute to our health. These factors, known as the social determinants of health, are the conditions in which we live, work, and play. Although these conditions often aren’t the first things that we think of when we think of the word health, they play a large role in health outcomes. In fact, it’s been shown that these social factors can account for as much as 55% of our health outcomes [14]. Interventions that address the social determinants of health have the greatest benefit to public health outcomes. Check out our stories for more resources about the connection between public health and education. I’ll also post links to the sources mentioned in this post.
Even though I’ve left the classroom as a teacher, each fall I think about students, families, and teachers as they return back to school. Oregon State University begins Fall 2020 classes this week, joining millions of other students, teachers, staff, and families who have already returned during the pandemic and uncertainty. Sending love to all teachers, students, staff, secretaries, custodians and everyone who has a connection to schools. Rooting for all of us.
#AmbassadorTakeOver #ThisIsPublicHealth #BacktoSchool