How a scholarship opened the door to environmental justice, opportunity at NSF
Paige Jewell, MPH ’26
Environmental Health Promotion and Policy with a certificate in Risk Science and Human Health
By Bob Cunningham
The James and Barbara Martin Scholarship provided Paige Jewell, MPH ’26, with much more than financial support. Jewell sees it as a daily reminder of what she is capable of—and what she owes it to herself to become.
“Although I never had the pleasure to meet James and Barbara, it is clear from the heartfelt words shared by their daughter, Jenifer, that they had a substantial impact on the School of Public Health and the field,” Jewell said in a speech she delivered at the annual Scholarship and Awards Dinner in April.
“I see the scholarship they have so graciously provided me as not just a gift, but as an inspiration to be my best every day and to strive to continuously create positive change in the field and in the world. I am and will forever be inspired by their stories, thankful for their gift, and motivated to make them proud.”
That sense of purpose carried Jewell through two years at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, where she graduated on April 30 with a Master of Public Health in Environmental Health Promotion and Policy and a certificate in Risk Science and Human Health. Along the way, she racked up internships, led a student organization, contributed to research on environmental chemicals, and found a community she didn’t know she was looking for.
But none of it would have happened without a detour she didn’t see coming—and a scholarship that helped make the road forward possible.
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A detour that became a destination
Jewell grew up in Walker, Michigan, a small community just outside Grand Rapids. She headed to Butler University in Indianapolis for her undergraduate degree in health sciences—eager to get out of Michigan for a bit, she said—with her eyes set on becoming a physician assistant.
That plan came apart during the summer before her senior year in her advisor’s office.
“She stopped me dead in my tracks,” Jewell said. “She looked right at me and said, ‘Paige, I don't think PA school is for you.’”
Going to school to be a physician assistant was her only plan. Before she could spiral into panic, however, her advisor finished the thought: “But I know there is a better path for you.”
Her advisor asked about her senior honors thesis, and Jewell talked at length about water quality, the Flint water crisis and environmental justice. Her advisor asked if she had ever considered public health, specifically if she had ever thought about earning a Master of Public Health degree.
“I definitely didn’t know about public health before I went to college, or even pretty much my whole way through undergrad,” Jewell said. “And then my advisor said, based on my interests, she thought I would be a good fit.”
Looking back, Jewell describes that meeting as the “catalyst for my life to fully begin.”
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Getting hired at NSF full time is such a full circle moment for me. I developed such a strong sense of support and community within the organization during my internship, and I am excited to continue working for the impactful and educational organization that supported me immensely throughout my time at Michigan Public Health. I am grateful to be able to support their mission through my work.”
Finding her place at Michigan Public Health
Jewell’s advisor pointed her toward an AmeriCorps internship opportunity, which she landed.
The placement took her to Putnam County in Indiana, a rural area where she worked alongside the local environmental health sciences department. She conducted food, pool and septic system inspections. She also helped coordinate a state program that allowed homeowners to have their water tested, working with residents and state officials to collect samples, share results and walk people through their options.
“It was not only a water testing experience, but also a managing of stakeholders experience,” Jewell said.
That hands-on start convinced her to apply to Michigan Public Health. What drew her to the program was its emphasis on internships and a broad, integrated curriculum that would expose her to every corner of the public health field—not just environmental health.
After Jewell arrived on campus, she built a record of experience that reflects both her focus on water quality and her broader commitment to public health.
Through the school’s career services office, she secured an internship with NSF, the international public health and safety organization headquartered in Ann Arbor. She started on the water systems team, conducting technical reviews on drinking water treatment chemicals and helping to certify their safety for public use. She also researched potential contaminants to help keep NSF’s standards current.
She later moved to NSF’s health and safety sciences team—formerly the toxicology team—where she took on chemical hazard assessments. The health and safety science team partners with ChemFORWARD, with NSF’s role being a qualified assessor for chemical hazards. Jewell would dig into the toxicological data to develop extensive chemical hazard assessments to add to ChemFORWARD’s globally harmonized repository of safer alternatives
“Both of those experiences helped me get real-world experience of how public health works from the corporate side,” Jewell said. “They sharpened my analytical skills, my ability to read scientific data and my overall approach to decision-making.”
Being an intern at NSF also opened a door to full-time employment. Just two weeks after graduating from Michigan Public Health she accepted the role of standards specialist II. She will facilitate task groups, writing and editing standards for publication, planning and promoting stakeholder meetings, and ensuring compliance with ANSI and NSF policies and procedures.
“Getting hired at NSF full time is such a full circle moment for me,” Jewell said. “I developed such a strong sense of support and community within the organization during my internship, and I am excited to continue working for the impactful and educational organization that supported me immensely throughout my time at Michigan Public Health. I am grateful to be able to support their mission through my work.”
Jewell also worked with faculty mentor Kate Manz on a research project examining PFAS exposure through human milk. The project used data from Health Canada’s Maternal-Infant Research on Environmental Chemicals study, known as MIREC. The research on PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals,” gave her hands-on experience in data analysis at a level that goes well beyond most graduate students.
Outside the lab and her internship, Jewell found a home in the Public Health Student Assembly, the student organization that supports the Michigan Public Health community. She was elected secretary in her first year, serving as a primary link between the organization and the broader student body. In her second year, she was elected president.
In that role, she helped plan events, including the school’s formal, a fall gathering, and the cap and gown rental—the kinds of things that don’t always make a résumé but make a school feel like a community.
“I really appreciated being able to give back to the community that I’ve found so much growth and support from,” she said.
That sense of community is one of the things she values most about the Environmental Health Sciences program—the tight-knit cohort, the accessible professors, and the feeling that people genuinely care about each other’s success.
“Public health progress is made by advocacy catalyzing change. Future public health leaders are made through amazing donors advocating to change students’ lives.”
Advocacy as a foundation
As Jewell heads into the next chapter of her career, she carries with her a belief that public health is, at its core, about people advocating for other people. Her advisor advocated for her. The Martin family’s scholarship advocated for her. And now she sees it as her turn.
“Public health progress is made by advocacy catalyzing change,” she said. “Future public health leaders are made through amazing donors advocating to change students’ lives.”
Jewell also acknowledged that public health faces real challenges right now. Progress is being slowed. Institutions are under pressure. But she pushed back on the idea that setbacks mean defeat.
“Growth is never linear,” she said. “Growth can source from roadblocks, and change is fueled from adversity.”
The day Jewell saw her goal of being a physician assistant vanish turned out to be the day her future started. A scholarship helped make sure she had the support to see it through.
“To the girl sitting in her advisor's office,” she said, “I thank you for staying true to your passion and taking a leap of faith into the unknown—because little did you know, your life was only beginning.”
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