I AM FPHLP 2018: Anthony Sanders

Anthony Sanders is a recent graduate from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied Community Health. This summer during FPHLP, he interned at Michigan Medicine in the Community Health Services Department. In this role he conducted needs assessments for targeted populations and implemented educational workshops to correspond with their needs.

Anthony's highlights of his FPHLP experience were the staff, mentors, and the community service days. Having mentors who work within the Public Health field was meaningful for him because he had the opportunity to ask questions and learn about their unique journey. Through the community service opportunities in FPHLP, he was able to go to different places in Michigan, serve neighboring communities, and feel a part of a significant change.

As a participant, the greatest challenge for Anthony was being able to adjust to working with multiple people at once to complete a task. As a result, he learned that everything is a team effort and that nobody can work alone. Working with others and utilizing their unique experiences and strengths is going to be essential in his work as public health professional.

Since the program has ended, he has deferred admissions to a graduate school in order to gain experience and learn about additional public health opportunities. Currently, he is a Resident Advisor at National Louis University for people with learning disabilities. Moreover, he has also gained interest in becoming a mentor for Mercy Home for Boys and Girls in order to continue to be a positive influence in the Chicago community.

The advice Anthony would give to someone applying to FPHLP is to be yourself. He believes that there's nothing better than just being yourself and wanting to do what your heart leads you to do. He also feels FPHLP is full of genuine, caring, educated, and passionate individuals who want to make a difference in their lives and others. Anthony would advise applicants to take every moment as a journey, and take in every piece of information you can.