I AM FPHLP 2017: Meagan Dunham

Curious about public health outside of South Carolina, Meagan decided to apply to FPHLP. At the time, she was a recent graduate from the College of Charleston, where she received her Bachelor of Arts in Public Health.

When Meagan was in FPHLP, she worked as a Special Victims Unit Intern with the University of Michigan's Division of Public Safety and Security (DPSS). While at DPSS, she created events to increase student engagement and raise awareness about crime prevention on campus. Meagan gained an understanding of the different services DPSS offers and the different populations it serves. Aside from successfully coordinating a community enrichment event, Meagan also created a social media guide for DPSS to improve student engagement through online platforms.

One of the highlights of Meagan's FPHLP experience was making memories with her cohort. Meagan's happy she was able to work with her group and is appreciative of how ambitious and supportive her cohort continues to be. Meagan also enjoyed the visit to the CDC and the community service experiences she participated in. "Each service experience was enlightening and reminded me why public health is needed in all communities," Meagan shares.

Throughout FPHLP, Meagan learned to trust the process. She's always been the type of person that has to have everything planned out. Meagan realized she wasn't fully appreciating the program because she was too busy planning for her next step—graduate school. After taking some time to reflect, Meagan chose to live in the moment. This helped her be more present with her cohort and get the most out of FPHLP.

Meagan applied to FPHLP to gain a broader image of public health. Now she's pursuing her Master's in Health Informatics at Boston University. She's simultaneously working as a Data Specialist at HopeHealth, a Federally Qualified Community Health Center in Florence, South Carolina.

Since FPHLP, Meagan's been able to clean data, clean performance data, and assure quality measures are met, all while beginning her journey in graduate school. Meagan's not sure where she'll be after earning her MPH, but she can't see herself working outside of public health.

Meagan believes that anyone considering applying to FPHLP should be open to learning, open to new experiences, and willing to trust the process. Meagan encourages students to to try new things and to network as much as possible. "We can't stop time," Meagan says. "Time will always pass and we must make the most of it."