Reflecting on My Path to MPH Graduation

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!