On August 1, I officially graduated with my Master of Public Health! 🎓
The past three years have been a whirlwind, balancing two classes each semester with full-time work, and wrapping it all up with a final summer internship of 20 hours a week (on top of still working full-time).
I’ve had ideas for photos and posts I want to share, but between my schedule, health, mountains of homework, endless papers, and extracurriculars, I’ve been running on fumes. Below is a year-by-year snapshot of what I’ve been up to. These lists are long, and there’s still so much I haven’t mentioned, and if I can gather enough photos for each, I might turn some of these into their own blog posts.
2022
- Attended the hot air balloon festival and an Imagine Dragons concert 🎈🎶
- Was interviewed by the SBN Network
- Separated from my spouse and moved in with my parents
- Spent four days in the hospital with severe gastritis and colitis
- Wolfgang underwent life-saving surgery (and thankfully pulled through) 🐾
- Several family members had hospital stays
- Was in a hit-and-run with a large U-Haul truck, resulting in five herniated disks and three months on short-term disability
- Left my physical product photography job and returned to work at UNF
- Accepted into UNF’s MPH program!
- Started my first semester of MPH classes: Biostatistics and Program Planning
2023
- Dressed up as the Queen of Hearts for an outdoor escape game ♥️♠️
- Spent many cozy evenings doing puzzles with my mom 🧩
- Became certified to teach AHEC’s Diabetes Empowerment Education Program (DEEP)
- Served as a Graduate Advisor for UNF’s Public Health Honorary ESG
- Attended my first UNF basketball game 🏀
- Photographed a dog’s birthday party 🐶🎂
- Had an Op-Ed published in the Florida Times-Union
- Collaborated with JaxCareConnect and Humana on healthcare access research
- Helped chaperone a high school prom
- Photographed my boss’s retirement party, tree planting, and a BCH summer fun event
- Met my boyfriend, James ❤️
- Went to a Yellowcard concert 🎵
- Completed MPH courses: Environmental Health, Health Communication, Global Sexuality, Social Work Research & Theory, Public Health Research, and Epidemiology
- Earned certifications in adult and youth mental health first aid
- Received a leadership award
- Was accepted into the AHEC Scholars program
2024
- Went to a laser light show and botanical gardens
- Saw comedian Sammy Obeid live 🎤
- Went to another Yellowcard concert 🎶
- Attended the NAS Air Show ✈️
- Spent lots of time with friends at arcade bars 🕹️
- Explored the National Army Armor and Cavalry Collection in Columbus, GA
- Did more puzzles with my mom 🧩
- Spent time in Clearwater, South Carolina, Zephyrhills, and St. Simon’s Island
- Visited SeaWorld for the first time 🐬
- Saw comedian Josh Johnson live in Orlando
- Traveled to Virginia and Washington, D.C.
- Went to the Jacksonville Fair 🎡
- Completed the UNF ropes course and went zip-lining
- Served on the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) Student Think Tank
- Visited the AJPH headquarters in Washington, D.C.
- Attended the APHA conference in Minneapolis and presented our art show, Forging Radical Hope: Health through Community and Creativity, featuring art from solicited submissions
- Solicited and reviewed student manuscripts for our theme of the year
- Co-hosted two episodes of our podcast 🎙️
- Participated in micro-credentialing/badge programs:
- UF Health/UNF MedNexus Clinical Research Coordination
- IGNITE Healthcare Leadership
- Innovation Critical Thinking
- Introduction to AI
- Completed a Medical Terminology cours/ certification through the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences
- Became CPR certified and emotional CPR certified
- Completed MPH courses: Health Program Evaluation, Public Health Policy and Advocacy, Theoretical Foundations of Behavior Change, and Public Health Leadership and Management
- Studied abroad in Japan! 🇯🇵
- Co-authored a study published in JAMA Network Open
- Was interviewed for Inside UNF
- Continued serving as a Graduate Advisor for UNF’s Public Health Honorary ESG
- Created the Pre-Professional Community Health Chronicle to amplify public health student voices
- Began attending Public Health Alumni Network meetings as an honorary board member
- Accepted four leadership awards 🏆
2025
- Sliced my thumb open with a kitchen knife and had to get it stitched 🩹
- Spent time in Sarasota
- Took a soap-making class with my mom 🧼
- Moved to a new apartment
- Celebrated Wolfgang’s 13th birthday 🐾🎉
- Switched MS DMTs
- Went geocaching
- Completed a 233-hour internship at Mayo Clinic Florida in Clinical Research Coordination
- Photographed two skills fairs
- Created four principal investigator training videos
- Developed a general ALS treatment plan
- Completed MPH courses: Health Disparities through Data Analytics, Public Health Capstone, and Public Health Internship
- Co-authored a study published in AJPM Focus
- Designed the poster for my team’s study to be presented at the American Academy of Health Behavior Scientific Meeting
- Was interviewed for UNF Newsroom
- Became volunteers (James and I) with the National Army Armor and Cavalry Collection
- Joined a Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights Advocacy Team
- Received two leadership awards 🏆
- Graduated from the two-year AHEC Scholars program
- Completed 30 hours of Community Health Worker training (test and certification pending)
- Earned eight additional certifications plus over 50 Mayo Clinic-specific certifications
- Studied abroad in South Korea!
- Was accepted onto UF’s Center for Arts in Medicine research team
- Graduated with my MPH! 🎓
- Spent a week in South Carolina
- Received a job offer the same day as my MPH graduation!
And the rest of 2025 is yet to come!