Preparing for a New Experience: Texas Edition
Sarah Brandstadt
1st Year MPH Epidemiology Student
Hello! My name is Sarah Brandstadt, and I am a first-year MPH student studying Epidemiology. As I prepare to travel down to San Antonio, Texas, I find myself thinking about my past experiences that led me to want to participate in this trip.
Two years ago, I had my first experience designing and distributing a survey to better understand community needs. Working with the Washtenaw County Health Department, I partnered up with two University of Michigan medical students to explore the prevalence and impact of medical debt in Washtenaw County. Throughout that summer, I set up tables at the Women, Infants, Children (WIC) office, summer health events, and local churches that were hosting food pantries. Through this experience, I was able to engage with over 100 community members and learn more about how medical debt is impacting their lives. This experience strengthened my passion for public health practice and working with community-based partners.
Once I heard that the School of Public Health offered this trip, I knew that it was something that I wanted to be a part of. I am very excited to continue building my public health skills and to interact with the community in San Antonio. I hope to learn a lot from the residents and community partners throughout this experience and I am looking forward to immersing myself into a new environment.
Although this trip brings a lot of excitement, I can’t ignore the nerves that come with it. We will be facilitating focus groups which is something I have never had to do before. It will be crucial to do everything we can to be respectful and build trust with the community members who are volunteering to be a part of the focus group.
This class has already taught me so much about community-based work and I can’t wait to continue learning more down in Texas!