Hello and welcome to my e-portfolio. In these pages you will find my journey through the Bachelor of Public Health (BSPH) to Master of Public Health (MPH) 4+1 program here at Old Dominion University (ODU). This site will hold insight into my academic experiences, my time as a graduate research assistant, and the real-world experiences I gained through two internships. 

My path to this program was anything but direct. I began at ODU in 2018 with the intention of completing the BSPH program and moving on to get a Doctorate in Physical Therapy. IMy husband, an active-duty Marine, had just been stationed in Virginia Beach, and the ODU BSPH program offered all the prerequisite required to get into the physical therapy program I wanted to apply to and there was the option for degree completion online option which is vital as a military spouse. By the end of my second year in the BSPH program I knew public health was going to be my future and was recruited into the BSPH to MPH 4+1 program shortly after. 

I declared Global Environmental Health as my concentration after my first semester of master’s level classes. During my BSPH “One Health-One Medicine” was a required course. This class posited that environmental health, human health, and animal health are interconnected and interdisciplinary collaboration is necessary to protect and improve health for all. It was in this class that I knew I wanted to stay in public health instead of continuing to physical therapy. The global environmental health concentration gave me the tools and understanding I needed to follow the passion that I felt during that class and inspire others to as well.