Onward to San Antonio, Texas
Apoorva Chalasani
1st Year MPH Epidemiology Student
Hello, my name is Apoorva Chalasani and I am a first-year epidemiology student in the MPH program. Soon the class of PUBHLTH 615 will be heading to San Antonio, Texas to work on a community health needs assessment with our local partners.
As someone who has lived their entire life in the state of Michigan and has never ventured to the Southern United States, I am excited to explore a new part of this country! I am most eager to meet the community members of San Antonio and gain insight into their lived experiences and perspectives on the factors that shape their health and well-being.
I’m particularly looking forward to this trip because it embodies the type of translational community based research that first sparked my pursuit of epidemiology. The opportunity to use research as a tool to foster change in a community is one that is incredibly motivating.
The thought of undertaking this project in only one week feels intimidating, but it serves as a fitting reminder to make the best use of the time that I have to work with the local community. While this is certainly a valuable experience for me, I hope that our work will also be meaningful to our community partners and to the San Antonio community.