MCH Students and Alumni Participate in CSU Panel

In October 2023, some of our Maternal and Child Health students and alumni participated in a panel for Chicago State University students interested in pursuing healthcare and public health careers and how an MPH degree would help them in the field. Students had the opportunity to ask questions of Ainna Flaminia (MCH MPH ’23) and Abby Suleman (MCHEPI MPH ’23), along with current 2^nd year MCH MPH Students, Izziah Thabath and Anna Jenkins. We asked the panelists to reflect on this experience, and some of their thoughts are shared below!

Why did you want to participate in the panel?

• I wanted to participate because we rarely get the opportunity to interact with students from other universities in this capacity, so it sounded exciting to me! I have also never been on a panel before, so I wanted that new experience. – Izziah Thabath
• Given how many barriers there are to higher education, I love panels because they offer insight into the field that isn’t available from formal sources. The success of anything in public health hinges on the rapport built with others and it’s important we build these relationships often and early! – Ainna Flaminia
• I was excited about the opportunity to share my experiences with healthcare with a motivated group of students. When I started nursing school, I didn’t fully understand the breadth of options I had to impact people – especially in public health. As someone who started in nursing and has since realized it doesn’t truly fulfill my personal “why”, learning about engaging in the public health field has reinvigorated my mission to serve the well-being of all people. I felt like this was a good opportunity to share these experiences and thoughts with some students starting off on their journey in health care in an effort to possibly expand their understanding of and options to fulfill their “why”. – Anna Jenkins

What was the experience like for you? What was your favorite moment or story?

• I had a great experience! I was so happy we could offer candid answers and reflections about our experiences to early and prospective students. One of my favorite moments was a conversation we had after a question about losing passion after working for some time. I talked about how your “why” is the foundation of the work you do, but that it’s perfectly normal for changes to happen throughout a professional career. Changing jobs does not mean you are any less committed to that passion. I love that this point not only resonated with students but the other panelists as well! That’s the fun part about panels, everyone takes something with them. – Ainna Flaminia
• Hearing these students’ passions for serving others was a reminder of where I was at the beginning of my healthcare journey and motivated me to seek opportunities to continue to expand on my passion as well. All the students were very engaged and had genuine questions – their desire to learn and grow in their ability to serve others but also promote their own well-being was clear. I was particularly inspired to see so many young black students seeking a career in health as I know from my experience there has not historically been equal opportunity or representation in the field. I know promoting equal representation in providers is critical to addressing so many of the health inequities experienced by black and brown patients. – Anna Jenkins
• It was a really enriching experience. It made me reflect on the diverse journeys that people have in the pursuit of healthcare and public health careers. People are at such drastically different places in life and dealing with their own situations, but we’re all working towards improving people’s health in whatever way we can. My favorite moment was discussing the reality of work-life balance with students; some of these students are working full-time jobs and struggling to keep up with everything. We were super candid in telling them that we understand that work often comes first when you’re trying to support yourself financially, and we offered advice on how to communicate with professors to get accommodations when needed to make school work for you, regardless of whatever challenges you’re facing. – Izziah Thabath

What was something you learned from the CSU students (either from their questions or their stories)?

• I definitely learned a lot from these students – particularly in regard to the importance of looking out for my own well-being as I work as a nurse and pursue further education. Their questions challenged me to consider what I am doing in my own life to reduce burnout and better serve my patients as they asked me to share my tips for balancing things; the truth is I don’t have many! They reminded me that to truly serve others, I need to serve myself as well. – Anna Jenkins
• The students come from many walks of life! I also noticed many folks were called to health careers because of proximity to it in their everyday lives. For example, one student works with elementary students in the classroom and became familiar with PT work because of assisting their students daily. They often had an individual experience and wanted to expand their knowledge beyond that perspective. I think that curiosity is a great connection to public health! – Ainna Flaminia

What is one takeaway from your experience that you are bringing back to the UIC CoE-MCH?

• As I kind of already mentioned – the big takeaway for me is reminding myself of “why” I got into health care and being deliberate in seeking opportunities to fulfill this why. I will also be conscious of balancing my time in school and work to care for my own mental well-being so that I can better fulfill this why and support and advance opportunities for others to serve within the health field in ways that are positive and meaningful for them as well. – Anna Jenkins
• Everyone’s journey to a public health career is different and we need to foster a supportive learning community and have grace for our peers, always! – Izziah Thabath

Thank you to CSU for hosting our students!