Grounded in Community: Reflections at the Start of a New Journey
Peace Odiase
In just a few short weeks, my classmates and I will be traveling to Grenada for a week-long public health practice experience with the Ministry of Mental Health, Wellness, and Religious Affairs (MMHWRA). We will work on a project to help support youth mental health programming on the island. In the summer, I will return to Grenada and continue working with the MMHWRA as an intern.
I look forward to this opportunity because my public health aspirations center on collaborating with communities to promote child and adolescent well-being. While I have implemented youth health and educational programs in previous roles, working with the MMHWRA will offer a new and invaluable experience. Through both the week-long project and the summer internship, I will gain firsthand insight into how government systems operate to promote population health, apply research methods to evaluate a psychoeducational program, and develop materials to support program sustainability.
I’m also drawn to the qualitative research component of this experience. During the week-long practice experience, my classmates and I will conduct focus groups and interviews with members of the community. This is an approach I value because numbers alone don’t tell the full story. By allowing people to share their lived experiences, we can better understand the health challenges we hope to address and the existing community strengths we can build upon.
Beyond building public health skills, one aspect of this experience that I am most excited about is community. I’m grateful that I will have my classmates and fellow Summer 2026 interns alongside me as we navigate this learning experience in a different country. Additionally, I’m eager to connect with community members in Grenada. There is only so much you can learn about a place through a Google search. So, I look forward to connecting with people on the island through the MMHWRA, community “third places,” and local activities (I recently heard about a great hiking club on the island). I believe that these moments of genuine connection are vital to immersing myself in culture and learning from the community.
I’m excited to embrace all that this opportunity has to offer, from gaining tangible public health skills to forming meaningful connections across cultures. As I embark on this new journey, I’m committed to practicing cultural humility and remaining open to new experiences.
