Looking Forward to Learning
Gabrielle Leiker
Public Health Undergraduate Senior
“Why Public Health?” is constantly asked when you are an undergraduate public health student. For me, my why has to do with where I came from. Coming from a rural town in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, I was directly impacted by the inaccessibility of healthcare and health support. I wanted to study public health to learn more about health inequities in accessibility and develop skills around building solutions to create healthier communities.
However, a lot of the work done in an undergraduate degree is learning the principles and very rarely do you get the opportunity to utilize the skills you learn while in school. When I learned about the potential opportunity to work with communities in San Antonio, I was eager to get involved.
Now that I have learned more about the community I will be working with on the Eastside of San Antionio, I am specifically looking forward to learning more about aging in place and how this may look different depending on context. The aging population in the United States can easily go overlooked, but it is crucial to recognize the gaps in care and support as our aging population will continue to increase.
Before entering this community, I am curious to have some questions answered such as: What does aging in place mean for those in the community? Does aging in place look differently between older men and older women? How often is the topic of grief approached in the community?
These questions, along with many others, may or may not be answered. I will first and foremost keep an open mind and be ready to listen and learn the moment I arrive in San Antonio. I will put my public health skills into practice while developing new skills through focus groups, interviews, and window surveys.
Although I have had experience in community engagement, this will be my first time entering a community while conducting a needs assessment. I am nervously anticipating this work as I strive to approach it in a culturally responsive way. I want to ensure that my work is helpful to the community and that the community members that I work with will be able to identify the purpose behind our work.
Mostly, however, I am eager to meet the members of the community and hear from them about their experiences. I love to learn from and engage with individuals who differ in experiences from my own. My biggest hope is that our work holds a lasting impact on the community, and I will learn responsible ways to engage with communities from this experience.
