Students flock to Fox Hall to meet with professionals in the healthcare industry. Photos by Tom Zucco
For Eckerd College students interested in volunteering, interning or having a career in public health, this was an event not to miss. And they didn’t.
More than 100 students gathered around tables inside Fox Hall on a recent Wednesday afternoon to learn about opportunities in the healthcare industry. Titled Careers in Public Health: An Informational Fair, the event was part of larger efforts by Eckerd’s public health faculty to prepare students for future educational and career paths in the field of public health. The fair was co-sponsored by Eckerd’s public health minor and the College’s Pre-Health Club.
Among the presenters were representatives from the St. Petersburg Free Clinic, Feeding Tampa Bay, CAN Community Health, Metro Wellness, the Suncoast Center, the Peace Corps, the Florida Department of Health, Empath and the Master’s of Public Health programs at Rollins College and at the University of South Florida.
“I was really pleased with the event,” says Lisa Miller, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology at Eckerd, who organized the fair along with Sarah Lyle, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychology. Miller adds that along with visiting with the various organizations, “a number of students stopped by to learn about Eckerd’s public health minor, so they could be able to focus on coursework in that area.
Peace Corps recruiter Claudale Daniels drew a large crowd of students.
“We have a huge need for public and community health workers across the globe, especially in the area of illness prevention,” Miller says. “Public health professionals help stop disease and other poor health outcomes in their tracks before they even begin. The students also got to meet with people who work in the field and learn about internship opportunities, careers and master’s programs. The fair went over so well that we’re planning for a bigger one next spring.”
Eckerd’s public health minor, coordinated by Miller, is designed to provide a pre-professional background for students interested in careers in public health, medicine, healthcare administration, health education, epidemiology and related fields. The minor requires five courses: Foundations of Public Health, a Statistics course and three approved electives.
Also represented at the fair was the student-run Pre-Health Club, which includes fields such as pre-vet, biomedical research, pre-nursing, pre–physician assistant and pre-med. There are approximately 200 student names in the club mailing list, and the aim is to network, guide and support pre-health students at Eckerd. Lisa Bonner, assistant professor of chemistry, and Denise Flaherty, associate professor of biology, are the faculty advisers.
Pre-Health Club Secretary Emma Rodriguez is a senior from Hillsborough, New Jersey, majoring in international relations and global affairs and minoring in Spanish and public health. She also volunteers at Metro Inclusive Health, a nonprofit organization that provides health and wellness services throughout the Tampa Bay area and had a table at the event.
“I think we got a ton of freshmen and sophomores at the fair,” Emma says. “And that’s great because Metro and many other organizations are offering positions of employment as well as internships and volunteering. After COVID, I think people were exhausted hearing about public health issues. Now people have room to breathe and time to process the idea of not letting that happen again.”
Emma took a break to visit a crowded Peace Corps table and chat with Claudale Daniels, the Peace Corps’ Central Florida recruiter. A member of the Eckerd College Peace Corps Prep program, Emma will travel to the Dominican Republic in August to spend two years teaching healthy living practices to middle school– and high school–aged students.
“I get goosebumps when I meet with the students and hear how interested they are,” Daniels says. “Not a lot of people think about it, but the Peace Corps is one of the most challenging things you’ll ever do in your life. But living and teaching in an underserved community, there’s nothing more rewarding.”
Deenah McFadden, a senior from Willoughby, Ohio, who is co-president of the Pre-Health Club, plans to take a gap year before she starts medical school. She intends to use that year to work in public health or medical research. “I want to see how much I like the public health field to see if I should pursue a dual-degree program,” she explains, “and talk with people already in the public health field about what they enjoy and what they don’t.”
An anthropology and biology student who is minoring in public health, Deenah got a good start at the fair, visiting with representatives of all 10 organizations while also helping out at the Pre-Health table.
“I was surprised at first to see so many people at the fair,” she admits. “I know how much interest there is in the public health minor, but to see them follow through on it was exciting.”
