I was first introduced to the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD) at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) during my senior year of high school. I was completely astounded to learn about the availability of UMD programs being available locally on the USG campus in Montgomery County. In order to afford the education I wanted, I sought the “2 + 2 pathway” — attending community college at Montgomery College (MC) first, and then after two years, transferring to a four-year institution at USG to complete my bachelor’s. While at MC, the field of Public Health had piqued my interest, and upon exploring the various degree programs offered on the USG campus, I was particularly captivated by UMD’s Public Health Science program.
As a student at MC, I had decided to focus on biochemistry, in hopes of one day becoming a physician. There was still a lot to explore at the time and I had gained significant interest in not just the study of diseases and symptoms, but also how to treat symptoms in individuals, and the community as a whole. With my educational background and having been a native of Cameroon, I not only understood the importance of community health, but also the issue of infectious diseases. This was when I realized that the field of public health offered a perfect blend of all my interests.
In my Public Health program, I am challenged to solve large-scale health problems. I have been learning about tools to identify population-level health issues and their causes, measure their extent, design interventions to address them, and evaluate the effectiveness of those interventions. I am thrilled with my decision to study on the USG campus — it has allowed me to enjoy a much shorter commute, additional scholarship opportunities, financial assistance, smaller class sizes, and seek student support when I need it, which are all very important for a working student like me.
The campus is also incredibly diverse and has so many opportunities to get involved. Since coming to USG, I have joined the student ambassador program and have taken on additional roles such as being the co-chair of the Recruitment Opportunity Liaison Committee (ROL) on the campus, both of which have helped me learn important real-life work skills outside of my program.
As an aspiring physician and epidemiologist, I hope to one day be able to address the problem of infectious diseases. Becoming a physician, as well as a public health official, would provide me with the opportunity to implement solutions and delivery systems that are not only better positioned to effectively address the range of risk factors when it comes to diseases, but also to focus on primary and secondary prevention efforts.