Kennedy Dubose studies public health not only for personal and intellectual reasons but also for what she sees as moral, ethical imperatives. Growing up, she saw public health systems failing Black communities. With a combination of local and global training, she is looking to promote more equitable community health in Detroit and around the globe.
Driven by a desire to do something about an emerging water crisis in Pakistan, Omar Ilyas and some friends started fundraising to build a well. About 24 months later, they had completed funding and construction on their 750th water well through their nonprofit Paani. The 2019 graduate is not stopping there.
In eighth grade, Briana Nelson decided to improve her fitness. With personal initiative and family support, a lifetime passion for nutrition was born. “It was a total transformation,” Nelson says, and her ability to focus and move herself forward toward big goals is helping her achieve great things as a student-athlete and as an ambassador for health equity.
In the pool, Michigan water polo student-athlete Kathy Rogers helps her team win games. Outside the pool, she has much bigger aspirations as she chases her dreams of making the world a healthier place through the field of public health.
Having immigrated from Vietnam as a child, Ngan Nguyen was inspired by the opportunities that move afforded her. Now, she’s using her public health education to support people in under-resourced countries around the globe.
Inspired by her experiences with health education initiatives, sophomore Joeita Macfield is already putting to work what she has learned in her public health bachelor’s courses. The aspiring physician is now supporting health education for peers on-campus with a new student organization.